Lucius took Luna to a small Wizarding Village located just a few minutes Apparition from the Manor. It was a quaint little place known as Little Wilt by the local wizards and witches. Though not as fancy and well stocked as Diagon-Alley or Knockturn Alley or Hogsmeade Village, Little Wilt had its own charm. With cobblestone streets that rarely agreed with Lucius' footwear and overly friendly shop owners that seemed to always inquire on his personal business, Lucius had always been glad it was his former wife that had done her shopping here and not him.
Besides, he was certain that most of the residents of Little Wilt and the surroundings held a less than stellar opinion of the Malfoys. Thought they'd never directly say it to his face, because they feared him, he didn't want to engage in surface small talk and exchange pleasantries. That and they didn't want to lose the Malfoys as their customers, for whenever they visited briefly, they spent a lot of galleons. But Lucius was far too tired of pleasantries and far too out of practice for small talk, seeing as he spent a year living in near solitude.
Miss Lovegood seemed instantly taken with the place, calling the streets «classic» and the shop owners «charming and the sweetest wizards she"d ever met» - no adjectives Lucius would have used himself. Still, he was pleased she enjoyed the place. As future Mistress of the Manor, she'd likely have to spend time ordering ingredients for the creatures or new fabrics for the curtains or whatever else she;d need to revamp the manor. This would be her responsibility, not his. He needed to make certain Miss Lovegood would be well acquainted with the owners.
This trip would be a quick in and out.
But like a child in a sweets shop, the young lady pressed her nose against every window, gushing at how wonderful everything was and that if Mr Malfoy was to travel, he needed to be well accessorized and dressed in the process. Despite his attempts to convince her he did not like to shop (which he resisted only half-heatedly), Lucius found himself dragged into a clothing store where he was quickly led to a display of mint and sage ribbons Miss Lovegood imagined would look «so elegant» with his new wardrobe and his newly cut blond hair. The shop owner, a Mrs Meddledrap, quickly agreed and unlocked the display for her to try a few of the ribbon on her companion's hairdo.
Lucius was seated on a small plush stool, facing a rather fogged up vintage mirror as Miss Lovegood tugged and pulled at his locks, fixing them into what Lucius could only imagine was something braided or tied or woven. The moment he turned around so that she and the shopkeeper could admire her handiwork, Mrs Meddledrap clasped her hand on her mouth and her cheeks went bright red...a striking colour against her already red chignon.
«M-Mr. Malfoy?!»
This was the moment Lucius had been dreading. She was going to pepper him with thinly veiled insults disguised as compliments and sell him her goods for a far larger price, then laugh in the backroom with her colleagues about «guess who I managed to shake a fortune out of this afternoon?» Or simply, she"d have a laugh at him at his expense. For a second, he debated extracting his wand, Obliviating her memory and leaving Little Wilt with Miss Lovegood in tow, but his companion had other plans.
«Yes, and doesn't he look positively handsome with that shade of sun-kissed olive?» Luna said dreamily, adjusting the ribbon in her hair.
Lucius took this as his sign to flash Mrs Meddledrap his famous dashing Malfoy smile. «Yes my dear, a fine choice indeed. Don't you agree?»
«W-Well, I"ll say,» Mrs Meddledrap mumbled. «I certainly am...surprised to see you would choose such an unusual shade.»
Surprised. Lucius scoffed, a key word here meaning «utterly displeased».
«Really?» he countered, brows raised, «What sort of shade would you throw at me?»
«For a gentleman such as yourself,» Mrs Meddledrap side eyed the corner of the display. «Black perhaps? We have a few new selections in just this week. Masked Navy or Unforgivable Noir...»
«My stylist has the final say.» Lucius turned to Miss Lovegood. «What say you to Unforgivable Noir and Masked Navy?»
Miss Lovegood looked at the offered ribbon briefly, eyes agape like saucers. «Oh no, no no. Those are such dreary colours. And that shady of Navy is sure to attract Cornish Pixies and other naughty little creatures. I like that Salmon Pate coloured ribbon...or, OH! That Pickled Ginger shade would go fabulous woven into the loopholes of your new vest!»
«Certainly not Miss,» Mrs Meddledrap mumbled firmly. «Not enough for a vest here in the spool.»
«I see.» Luna"s eyes cast down briefly, but filled with a spark when she reached over and pointed to a robin's egg blue. «This would make a lovely boutonniere tie-»
«No, no,» Mrs Meddledrap protectively tucked the Robin"s Egg aside. «I forgot that we had reserved this for another customer.»
Lucius snarled. «I don"t see any other customers here.»
«But we serve a great many other clients with varying needs.»
«You"ll find, that I too have needs,» Lucius said in a low voice.
«But not very great ones, I"d imagine,» Mrs Meddledrap said.
«What a beautiful shade of daffodil yellow,» Miss Lovegood gushed, unaware of all other conversation. «And so much of it in the spool. I"m sure there would be enough here for us and everyone in Little Wilt to have a piece.»
«That,» Mrs Meddledrap said. «Is the shade of ribbon used for Supporters of the Victims of the Second Wizarding War. I highly doubt this shade would be,» she glared at Lucius, «Appropriate for your companion.»
«Oh,» Luna said. «That is a wonderful cause. We would love to make a donation to it now.»
Digging in her pineapple-shaped purse, she fished out a note for twenty galleons and looked around the shop until she found the donation box with the sign «Fund for the Victims of the Second Wizarding War» on it and tucked the note through the slot.
«You don"t understand,» Mrs Meddledrap said, a wicked grimace bordering on rage on her outwardly smiling face. «You can"t just buy support for the victims.»
«I think you"ll find we just did,» Lucius said quickly.
«You have to actually care.»
Now this was absurd. Lucius had donated nearly ten thousand Galleons to that very foundation and was planning on donating more over his lifetime, but this woman was beginning to crawl under his skin.
«I don"t recall this box saying «Donate care» on it.» Lucius stood up and grabbed the donation box, shaking it. «Ah here it is, the sound of carefully packaged care. Now, our ribbon please.»
Mrs Meddledrap snatched the box back, smacking it back on the counter. «Not everything has a price, Mr Malfoy.»
Miss Lovegood"s body shook when the tin hit the wood. Grabbing Lucius" arm, she whispered «I could do without the ribbon. It"s the thought that counts.»
«Nonsense,» Lucius whispered back, «You bought that ribbon fairly.»
Yes, at that moment, a boyish grin spread on Lucius" face. What was life but a giant game? And he liked to game and when he played, he won. This interaction, this fight of egos over a daffodil ribbon, it had only just begun and Lucius Malfoy was determined to secure that prize at any cost. Cauldron, he would have that ribbon if it was the last thing he did today.
Lucius placed both hands on his snake cane. «I understand that we are free to help ourselves to anything in this store and walk out?»
«What?»
«You said that not everything has a price.»
«W-well these ribbons have a price.»
«How much?» Lucius thundered.
«This specific pool of ribbon, five galleons-»
«For the lot.»
Mrs Meddledrap paled. «I beg your pardon?»
Lucius strode over to the display, grazing his hand over the glass. «For this entire display.»
Mrs Meddledrap crunched her knuckles. «That"s difficult to say, some of these ribbons are five galleons per spool, some imported varieties for seven...»
«Two hundred and fifty galleons. Cash.» Lucius stated. «Would that cover the lot.»
«Hypothetically yes, but-»
«Then we have a deal. On one condition.» Lucius said, eyes dashing to a mousy assistant standing in the corner spying on the entire conversation. «Your assistant, Mr...?»
«Mr. Diddle, sir.» stuttered the young wizard.
«Pleasure. On the condition Mr Diddle has this entire display transported to the Wiltshire Manor in the next hour.»
Mrs Meddledrap bit her tongue, then remembered, «Mr Diddle has not yet finished his shift here.»
For that, Lucius Malfoy too had a solution. «Tell me, how much do they pay you here?»
«Twenty Sickles an hour sir.»
«Here,» Lucius took a few crisp notes and folded them into the lad"s hand. «That should cover you for the end of the day, I"d imagine.»
«T-thank you, how generous!» Mr Diddle looked like the notes like he had won the lottery. «Thank you Mr Malfoy sir!»
«Your hands, they are quite blistered, I might remark.»
Mr Diddle blushed. «I like to garden.»
«What a coincidence!» Lucius" eyes widened. «If you ever need employment with far higher wages and benefits, Wiltshire Manor is looking for a new gardener to help upkeep the grounds. You see, the new Mistress of the Manor has great plans for the place. Hopefully you are keen on Magical creatures?»
«Top marks in Care for Magical Creatures class at Hogwarts!»
«Splendid.» Lucius slipped Mr Diddle his business card with an invitation to Floo him if he changes his mind about the job offer. He was sure the lad was going to faint right then and there if he hadn"t remembered his all-important task about ribbon transportation, and got straight to work.
Mrs Meddledrap looked worse for wear and was fuming as though she was trying to boil water on her head. «How am I supposed to run my shop without my only employee?!»
«With half the merchandise gone today, I doubt you"ll have many clients.» Lucius replied smugly. «I"m sure you don"t need me to explain the hiring process to you.»
«You!» She pointed her thin finger at him. «You devil. How much did you offer him?»
And with a hand to her ear, for Lucius did not like to boast, he whispered his hourly wage.
«Nobody can pay that much!» she cried. « You employ House Elves.»
«Not anymore. Like I said, there"s a new Mistress in the Manor.» Lucius replied, leading Miss Lovegood, whose feet have been planted firmly on the ground in awe, out of the shop.
«You can"t just buy off my employee and walk out like that! You won"t get away with it!»
«Nearly forgot.» Lucius stopped, turned around and fished an enveloped with crisp galleon notes, holding it before her. «Madame? Unless not everything has a price?»
Mrs Meddledrap all but snatched the money from his hand and dissapearing into the storeroom.
Lucius and Miss Lovegood walked out of the shop, his hands on her shoulders. By now a rather large number of eyes glared at them through shop windows and from the tiny tables of street cafes. Mr Malfoy was back. And if his presence alone was unconvincing, Mr Diddle Levitating boxes and boxes of ribbons into a carriage from the store was sure to send a clear message: unless they wanted to lose a valuable customer, the other shopkeepers would be wise to treat Mr Malfoy and his blonde haired companion with respect.
Lucius was holding hope that he could keep a low profile and make a few purchases, sliding by on the assumption that others would treat him with basic wizardly respect. Clearly, this was too much to ask. Very well. If they didn"t want to play nice, he would have to be the bad guy. Mr Lucius Malfoy, rich aristocratic snob who paid for good treatment. He had money to spare.
Standing in the street, Miss Lovegood came back to her senses. After a moment of silence, she looked up at Lucius, grabbed his arm with both hands and grinned.
«I think I love shopping with you Mr Malfoy!»
And Lucius grinned back. Miss Lovegood"s wide, adoring smile that lit up her face with her eyes squinting with joy. That one. That was how the Game was won.
The rest of the morning passed in a magical blur. Luna had been shopping before, but never with such an experience. the shopkeepers were jumping out of their socks, tending to her every «ooh» and «ah» with a «would the Missus like it in a different shade as well?»
Of course, nobody was in more elated spirits than Mr Malfoy himself, who offered, no, insisted that anything «Miss Lovegood wanted, she must get.» After all, the Mistress of the Manor would need only the very best Dragonfly Leather Slippers and no less than fifteens pints of freshly made gelato to go. When Luna said that a very large scratching post and Kneazle condo would likely not fit in the Kneazle Kitten room, Lucius wouldn"t take no for an answer and insisted it be delivered to the Manor in both Lilac Purple and Powder Pink to be extra sure along with matching pet beds and food bowls.
Papa would have likely called her „spoiled rotten" with a mischievous wink, but even Luna had to admit that he was the very one who never said no to his only darling daughter"s whims. If anyone had raised a witch who accepted only princess treatment from the men in her life, it was Xenophilius Lovegood who supported her Dirigible Plum Jewelry making phase and her handmade clothing obsession.
«This has been the most glorious day,» Luna said skipping down the cobblestone path, bags and bags floating behind her. «Thank you Mr Malfoy.»
«I was serious when I said no expenses would be spared on your behalf during your stay at the Manor,» he said.
«I"ll not doubt you.»
«Clever witch.» Mr Malfoy replied with a wink. «But our day isn"t yet finished.»
«I don"t think I can Levitate anymore- oh yes! The Bowtruckle habitat!» Luna ran towards the florist shop, hopping up the steps. She"d nearly forgotten her entire reason for coming to Little Wilt in the first place.
Pushing open the door of Ponoamicus" Magical Florist Shop, she was met with floor to ceiling glass walls: the shop was much larger on the inside than it had been on the outside. A soft light fell over leaves of nearly hundreds of varieties of ferns, flowers, weeds, roots, trees and other living greenery. Luna felt warm and comforted in the presence of the peaceful humming of insects and the trill of birds. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath. With all the exhilarating shopping of the morning, she hardly had a moment to herself.
«Have we met before?»
Luna turned to see a short and thin man with tanned skin and the marvellous glowing green eyes. He had white hair tied in braids down his back and donned a crisp linen robe set with small dirt stains on the front.
«Mr Malfoy. And Miss Lovegood with me for the first time.» said Mr Malfoy, reaching out his hand. Mr Ponoamicus shook it slowly.
«Mr Malfoy. My most sincere condolences,» he said. «Your wife was one of my loyal customers.»
«She liked her roses.» Mr Malfoy"s voice dropped.
«Every variety. Every sort. Every colour. She insisted I owl her every time a new plant came in the store and asked to put it on hold. Oh what a splendid garden she must have had! I did always mean to ask her to visit.»
«They went into good hands.» Mr Malfoy croaked out. «Excuse me. It is quite humid here.» Taping his forehead with a kerchief, he made his way for the door.
Roses, Luna recalled sadly, did not bring up the best memories for Mr Malfoy.
«Oh dear, I should not have said that,» Mr Ponoamicus paled. «How insensitive of me.»
«Don"t blame yourself.» Luna put a hand on his.
«But you, my dear, yes. Why do you seem so familiar. Lovegood, Lovegood...» He thought hard. «You are by chance related to Mrs Pandora Lovegood?»
«My mother-»
«Cauldron, of course! I never forget a face. That beautiful hair of hers, and that smile. She is a wickedly talented one. Always looking for exotic plants to experiment with for her brews and potions. I don't think there is a florist in all of Magical England that doesn"t know her name-»
«Didn"t.»
«I did it again didn"t I. Oh dear.» Mr Ponoamicus blubbered out.
«It"s been fifteen years. A potions accident.»
«My condolences.»
«Thank you,» Luna said simply. «Papa joked her appetite for the unknown would get the best of her. Of course, he was right.»
«She challenged the boundaries on the daily.»
«She did.»
«But you have her entrepreneurial spirit, I imagine, getting into business with the Malfoys.»
«Mr Malfoy offered me a job to be the Mistress of the Wiltshire Manor during his absence. He"s letting me convert it into a stay for my rescued Magical Creatures.»
«Very ambitious!»
«That"s why I"m here actually. For the Bowtruckle habitat.»
«Say no more.» Mr Ponoamicus led her into the depths of the greenhouse-store. «I have just the very thing you need.»
As they got to talking about plants and parents and creatures, Luna began to feel a growing sense that her Quibbler-journalist side would not rest if she hadn"t asked the kind man the very pressing question.
«You were well acquainted with the former Mrs Malfoy. What was she like?»
Between uprooting ferns, Mr Ponoamicus wiped his brow. «I can say for certain, no woman who spends that many galleons on roses is happy in the company of men.»
«Was she as perfect as they described?»
The florist chuckled. «You are very curious Miss Lovegood.»
«So they say.»
«Would I be very wrong in assuming this has to do with your affection for the current Mr Malfoy?»
Luna"s breath stood in her throat. «Affection can come from friendship as well.»
«Indeed it can.» The florist set down anouther bag of seeds. «Miss Lovegood, Luna, please take my words with heart. I only say this out of great respect for your mother. I would tell my daughter, had I one, the very same words. Be very cautious in calling those your friends who want something of you.»
«Well Mr Malfoy isn"t my friend yet,» she said, her heart dropping.
Mr Ponoamicus waved his hand, summoning a dandelion that bloomed from yellow. «Some plants have many petals around the core when it blooms. But when the wind blows-» The dandelion whitened. He took a deep breath and sent the white umbrellas floating away. «-there is only the base left.»
Luna nodded. « I can always change my mind if running the Manor becomes too much.»
«You"re a wise witch. I would not like to see you get hurt.»
Luna paid for the purchases and left the store to see Mr Malfoy sitting on the bench surrounded by the morning"s worth of purchases. He looked concerned for a moment, in deep pensive thought. Luna remembered how upset he was when she had wandered into the late Mrs Malfoy"s garden and suggested the changes. Certainly, he wouldn"t cast her off into the wind after she had invested so much into the Manor and he had purchased so many things for her. Luna really needed to have a place for her dear Bowtruckles and Kneazles and Thestral fouls and Nifflers.
But perhaps, his love for the former Mrs Malfoy was stronger than his desire for change. What if Mr Ponoamicus was right? What if tomorrow, Mr Malfoy woke up and decided that Mrs Narcissa Malfoy had been the perfect mistress of the manor and that it needed to be run exactly as she ran it before? What is Mr Malfoy tired of the colours and the creatures and all the knickknacks she"d put around the house?
Twinkle seemed to think Missy Narcissy was perfect. So did Draco. What if one year was not enough for Mr Malfoy to be ready for change?
«Ah! You"ve done your purchases?» Mr Malfoy looked up at her beaming, as though he"d not been down just a moment prior.
Luna held up her bag.
«Wonderful. I was beginning to wonder if you"ve decided to purchase the entire store.»
Luna forced a weak smile. «I might have decided to turn the dining room into a giant orangery after all.»
«As you wish.»
«Mr Ponoamicus and I...we were just talking.»
«What about?»
«Dandelions.»
Mr Malfoy smiled, leading her back down the cobblestone street to the Apparition point.
Luna looked up. «If you were a dandelion, would you be the white or the yellow variety?»
He thought for a moment. «Perhaps the white.»
«The white?»
«I"ve developed a sudden aversion to yellow shades.»
Luna"s face fell.
«Now then, I"ve upset you.»
«I was just thinking.»
«You do an awful lot of that my dear.»
Luna blurted, her face a shade of red and an unwilling tear trickled down her cheek. «White dandelions spread all their seeds around and nobody is left beside them. Nobody!»
Lucius just couldn"t understand what had happened. One moment Miss Lovegood was in happy spirits and he felt himself the king of the world. Finally, there was someone happy to be in his company, someone he could please. And now, she was in a blubbering fit of tears.
Would he ever understand women? He bought her everything she could possibly want for a calm life at the Manor and now...
«But what logic is this Miss Lovegood?!» Lucius threw his hands in the air. «I will have to return and have a stern word with Mr Ponoamicus. Spreading around this nonsense of dandelions. Bringing you to tears!»
«It isn"t nonsense. Y-You don"t understand. It-it"s a metaphor for life.»
«A metaphor»
«A metaphor is when two things are compared together-»
«-I know what a metaphor is, Cauldron. But I will fight it-»
«-you c-cannot fight a metaphor Mr Malfoy.» miss Lovegood suddenly stopped sobbing and her face took a pensive look.
«I don"t care if I can, I will.»
«With w-what? A w-wand?»
Lucius grinned. «I suppose I can"t use a wand. But I can use another figure of speech.» He rubbed his chin in a theatrical manner. «A Smothering Simpleton Simile, perhaps?»
«That"s alteration.»
«So it is. Now, here: A dandelion is but a fleeting maiden of the spring. One look of pensive autumn sends it flying.»
«personification. You need to use like or as»
«A dandelion is as irrelevant to me as Unforgivable Noir ribbons.»
Miss Lovegood laughed. «Now that was a simile.»
«The tribulations I must ensure for your happiness, my dear Miss Lovegood.» He smiled. «Now please tell me, what dandelion am I to choose make sure that pretty little smile of yours does not leave your face?»
«None at all.» she laughed wiping the salty tears off her cheeks.
«No, but I really must. Yellow or white. White or yellow. I won"t sleep unless I do.»
«Then you won"t sleep. Someone will have to entertain Draco.»
«That rascal.» Lucius scowled. Yes, he"d nearly forgotten about his son. «Now there"s an argument I cant refute.»
«Then we won"t speak of this again.»
«As you wish»
With a grab of his arm, the two Apparated back to the Manor.
Draco answered the door of the Manor, surprised. For one, he"d never had to answer the door in all his years living here. That was the House Elf"s job. For two, nobody ever visited the Manor through the front door. Yet here was some boy his age with his hands full of boxes of boxes of ribbons stating he was here on request of Mr Malfoy with a special delivery.
After the ribbons came fabrics, a variety of Creature food, figurines of characters from Beetle and Bard"s fairy tales, an assortment of tiny cheeses, artisan candles, handwoven rugs and more.
Finally, the last two arrive were his father and Luna.
«Are we to open shop here,» Draco grunted, managing to squeeze past all the parcels.
«I haven"t yet decided,» Lucius said, carrying in a floating package that by it"s shape looked like it contained a very fancy hat.
«Well it"s too many things for any one person.»
Luna, who was beaming with joy, but also looked a bit concerned for the sheer quantity of items, whispered, «Mr Malfoy insisted. He is very generous.»
Too generous, Draco thought to himself but kept his mouth shut. Indeed, it was not unlike his father to display such frivolity in spending him funds. He had always been an avid collector of artifacts and mystical items.
«Although I believe it"s all to convince me to take over the manor.»
Draco smiled. Luna Lovegood may be out worldly, but not totally naive.
After the unpacking of the items, his father looked ready to call it an afternoon, excusing himself and retreating to his bedroom. The Niffler, the one who had been sitting on Lucius" lap earlier that day had jumped over to Draco and gave him a loud, hair raising hiss and then bounded upstairs to follow his new favourite person. The second Niffler cowered in the corner, noticing his brother was gone, ran up to join him.
«Pop and Pippin sure like him.» Luna sighed dreamily.
«The only creatures that have ever liked him were the peacocks,» Draco recalled laughing. «Actually, they are only living things that didn"t hate being around him. Must have been the good feed he bought.»
«Your father has a good energy about him. I feel his aura has changed.»
«A lot about him has changed.»
At that moment, Draco turned to see Luna looking him straight in the eyes with a very needy and concerned expression.
«Draco, I am not trying to replace your mother,» she said softly.
«Nobody can replace mother.»
«I know. I only want you to know that I am trying to help.»
Trying to help? Draco looked at the girl with her big eyes, almost ridiculous in their expression of innocence. Was Luna really so silly and naive to think that she can change a man that had decades worth of tradition and snobbism ingrained in him? Or perhaps that she could ever be the Mistress of the Malfoy Manor ? No, it really did seem that way. Anyways, it was for the best Draco carried on with his plan to rid her of the Manor and scare her away for good. This home was no place for naive witches. The Malfoy family was quite possibly the last place for the ideas of: change and novelty and creativity. The sooner Luna understood that the better.
The Mistress of Malfoy Manor would have to be used to the taunts and the hate from others. And Luna was...well...too soft.
«Draco I know we have not gotten along in the past,» she continued, «but maybe we can put our student days behind us and start again. Be friends.»
Draco held a firm expression when he reached out and shook her hand and forced a smile to say, «that sounds reasonable. In fact, I wanted to suggest the very same.»
«Oh really Draco! You will not be disappointed! I knew when those Nargles around your head disappeared, you would be my friend.»
«Yes, no Nargles.» Draco said encouragingly. «Well I for one am very glad that we were able to move past our differences.»
«As am I.»
Luna looked so positively drunk with happiness, it was overflowing over her body and even the tips of her hair seemed to zip about with magic. Draco smiled. Yes, his Astoria was a genius. If he kept layering on the concern and the compliments , he was certain to get her to follow his every request.
«You know, Luna, now I am beginning to see exactly what Father sees in you.»
«You do?»
«Oh yes.» Draco said. «Your kindness. Your big heart. Your generosity. Yes, this might be exactly what was missing from this lonely, ugly house for a long time.»
He began to walk down the hallway, as though lost in thought and like a little puppy, Luna followed suite.
«What was it like growing up here?» she chirped.
«Oh you wouldn"t understand-»
«I want to! Truly! If there is anything I can do to make you and Mr Malfoy feel like home when you"re visiting, I"d be glad to do it.»
Draco looked down solemnly. «It was lonely being the only child. Nobody to play with ever, I was spending all my days just walking around the empty rooms and corridors. Not like yourself, with all your many siblings-»
«-I didn"t have any siblings.» Luna recalled.
«You don"t say?» Draco piped in, trying not to look too dumbstruck to give away his ruse. «But surely you"ve always been surrounded by your creatures?»
«Oh no, it wasn"t always that way. It was just father and I.»
«No mother?»
«She passed away while conducting a potions experiment when I was young.»
«I am sorry. I did not know. But however did you become interested in Magizoology?»
«I"ve been good at it back in school. Hagrid, well he always let me help with Buckbeak and the Thestrals during the weekends. Oh Blackwing and Nugget, I never forget a Thestral! He always invited me for tea and let me borrow all his books on creatures.»
Draco shuddered at the word „Buckbeak". «You must have been terrified.»
«Oh not at all,» Luna walked with her arms behind her back. «All creatures can be tamed and even be friendly with patience and treats.»
«Surely not Buckbeak-»
«He was a sweetheart once you got to know him.»
«You must have had a way with difficult creatures then?»
«That"s what Hagrid said. It"s why I became so interested in Magizoology in the first place.»
«Your father as well must have been supportive.»
Luna"s expression dropped. «Papa? Well it took him a while to warm up to the idea. But I think it will be best if my creatures move to a different and more spacious place. Writing over the noises of my nocturnal beasts isn't exactly easy.»
«Which is why the Manor would be so beneficial for you.»
Luna grabbed Draco"s hands. «Oh I sound awfully greedy now. I promise you, I am not.»
«Not at all. In fact, I think it"s quite wasteful myself to have thirty bedrooms in a home with only one occupant,» Draco assured her.
«I do like talking to you,» she said hopefully. «I was so nervous you wouldn"t like having me here.»
«I am slow to warm up to people.»
«Oh no, you are kind...and...and...»
«yes?»
Luna gripped Draco"s hands tighter. «I just feel so awful for disliking you for so long. Truly, I thought you just didn"t care about Mr Malfoy and you had no kindness in your soul. But all the things you did for Hogwarts, all the joy you"re giving your father now-»
«-I"m sure he"s not overjoyed-»
«- he wouldn"t say it but I could tell from his letters that he missed you very much and he wanted to find some way to become closer with you.»
Draco thought for a moment. His father didn"t seem the type to want to have him back in his life just because? Lucius Malfoy spent all his childhood years bossing Draco about, dragging him to fancy Ministry gatherings and stadiums and shops, ordering him about and instructing him on what it meant to be a true Malfoy. When Draco grew up and chose a different path in life, he was certain Father had shunned him for good and crossed him out of his good books. Hearing Luna say the opposite softened his heart for a moment, so much so he barely noticed himself shedding a genuine tear.
«That...is perhaps the kindest thing I"ve heard you say all day,» he said quietly. The gathering himself, brushed the tear away quickly. «You best be telling the truth!»
«I am, I am! He really misses you Draco and he hopes that you can stay on good terms with him now that you"re living away from home.»
Well that was nice. But Draco still wasn"t going to let one nice word from Luna let her be the Mistress of Malfoy Manor with full approval from yours truly. Draco made up his mind to rid himself and the manor of her, and when a Malfoy made up their mind...naught even death itself could stop them.
«You were serious about making this Manor comfortable for me?»
«Of course!»
Draco lowered his voice. «I admit I have a secret. A secret fear.»
«You?» she asked, wide eyed.
«There in the dungeons of the Manor is a secret room that has always scared me.»
«Some rooms can be truly terrifying.»
«Now you understand. This is no ordinary room, it"s filled with strange and frightening things. It"s haunted me since I was a boy. One time, Dobby our House Elf found me in there and rescued me in the nick of time.
«The dungeons.» Luna said softly. «I will try, for you.»
«Not if you"re uncomfortable.»
«Of course not, you were so welcoming and if I am to be the Mistress of the Manor, I too must face my fears and pout on a brave face.»
«If something could be done. It would take a miracle to fix it, but I admit it would make me feel better visiting Father knowing that this terrible room was gone,» Draco pouted.
It appeared to work and the two made their way down the stairs into the dungeons. Passing by Twinkle, Draco gave her a knowing nod «you know what to do» and the Elf nodded back, dissapearing into the shadows.
The way down was quick as Draco knew all the ins and outs of the Manor, but quicker still were the feet of Twinkle the House Elf who wished forever to rid herself of both the unpleasant new Missy and the Master Dracey who both caused far too much commotion in the Manor as of late.
When Draco had led Luna down to the very bottom of the Manor, the belly of the beast, she shuddered under the cold, and hollow echo of the corridor. She saw a place like this in her worst nightmares and instantly a familiar shiver ran down her spine as Draco took her to the room which he wanted her to get rid of. Of course, Luna could not get rid of a room, but she could lock it, or perhaps transform its contents into something more friendly and pleasant.
«Where is it?» Luna asked. «The room?» She felt the presence of the Doxies around her as she spoke. This was truly a morbid place.
Draco pointed to a bolted door at the end of the corridor. «There.»
«Will you not go with me?» She asked. «Oh, of course.»
«I would much prefer to stay back and watch from a distance. You know? Bad memories and all. Call out if you need anything and I will quickly come.»
«I"m sure of it.» Luna said, but her voice trembled as she approached the door and turned the knob. What could be inside that was so frightening to Draco? She was sure a Malfoy would not be afraid of anything.
Maybe except something ever so banal and simple, something most adults are afraid of. And most adults were afraid of the most simple yet widely misunderstood things. The dark, for example, or spiders, or maybe bones and skeletons or rats or eerie noises. Well if it were any of those things, Luna would find it quite easy to fix the problem. Besides, she liked spiders and the dark had never been a problem when one turned on the light.
Luna wrapped her hands around her shoulders. Then taking a deep breath, released them and pushed open the door. She squinted her eyes, but a warm and bright poked its way through her lashes. She stepped into a room that had transformed into an endless field that moved into valleys and peaks in the distance. The light shone so bright on her she had to cover her eyes as she walked across the floor which was pure green grass.
It was a fairy tale, the inside of this room. Creatures of all shapes and size floated around her. Not in cages, but freely roaming the grounds. Here were Bowtruckles running on the tree trunks and whizzing Beezles above her. A Erumpent lazily rolled about in the dust in the distance and a few distant splashed in the distant waters showed there may have been Grindylows or Mermaids here.
"If only Papa could see this,» Luna said, mouth agape. «Oh and Pop and Pippin. This would be a dream habitat for them. If only...if only I could make the Manor look half as good as this.»
Surely her sweet fantastic beats would adore living here. Maybe Draco had taken her to the wrong room? There was nothing to fear here at all. She turned around to look at the door, but figured that he would not mind if she stayed here to explore just a bit longer.
She ventured deeper into the fantastical room, looking at all the flora and fauna. This was the perfect dream for any Magizoologist. If she could just capture very picture of this place and take it back and show Mr Malfoy. He would not object to her adding these trees to his yard or even the bridge over a makeshift pond for all of Luna"s future aquatic creatures.
Meanwhile Draco stood in the distance staring at the door wondering when he was going to hear the gut wrenching scream from inside. When Luna was going to see the graveyard of bones and skulls from all the past thieves of the Manor. Or maybe this wasn"t the Room Of Sevieht at all and his last House-Elf Dobby had played a trick on him. Draco was about to go over there and fetch Luna out of the room himself when he noticed the door slowly begin to vanish.
«Oh no,» he mumbled, quickening his pace.
By the time he arrived to the door, it was fully gone. Draco pounded on the wall, calling «Luna» an pressed his ear to the surface but no sound came through. It was though the door had never been there at all.
He swallowed. Hard.
If there was no door, there was no way of getting Luna in or out of the room. There was no way of knowing whether she was inside there at all.
If he lost Luna inside the Manor"s dungeons, well, his father was surely going to send him back to Hogwarts in a matchbox.
~~~~~~X*X~~~~~~~
A/N
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