Harry Potter, saviour of the Wizarding World and Auror, found himself unable to track down his friend. He had spent a week awaiting her reply, and then anouther, and after the third, found it necessary to make an appearance at her house.

Yes, he knew how Luna could get consumed with caring for her Magical Creatures. But three weeks was far too long for anyone to not at least owl out a short "will reply soon" message to a long-time buddy.

He had prepared himself for the worst, and Apparated to the Lovegood house and knocked on the front door. And when nobody answered, he snuck around the back and found the yard devoid of the usual hoard of creatures. Had the Lovegoods moved? No. Surely, she'd tell him if they had.

He had paced around the empty garden. There were tracks on the ground left by pens and cages. There was scattered birdseed and hay everywhere. They couldn't have plucked her entire zoo up and vanished it into thin air without him knowing!

Just then, the back door screeched and a familiar voice called out to him.

"Ah Harry."

"Xenophilius!" Harry threw his hands in the air. "Glad to see you. Thought you moved." He rubbed the back of his neck. "Was just going to check up on Luna. Hasn't replied to my last messages. Hadn't owled a note in weeks. Was getting worried. Is she home?"

Xenophilius shook his head. "I'm afraid not. She's gone."

"Where?"

"To Spain."

"Alone?!" Harry cried. "With all her creatures?"

"And Mr Malfoy-"

"Draco?" And when Xenophilius did not reply, Harry really did feel the worst case scenario coming true before his eyes. "Lucius Malfoy?"

Xenophilius pushed open the door. "It's a long story, my dear boy. One that I haven't come to believe myself. But if you care for a spot of tea..."

"I can't believe it!" And Harry, without hesitation, climbed the steps after the older man for he was very curious to hear a story in which Luna Lovegood and Lucius Malfoy had gone off to Spain with her entire zoo of fantastical creatures.

-x-x-x-

"I can't believe it!" Lucius Malfoy mumbled, plucking out the last of the Bowtruckles out of his blond tangles and setting it into the habitat. The critter gave him an upset mumble before dissapearing into the greenery.

"Now, now," he scolded with a quick tut-tut wag of his finger.

Serves it right, trying to sneak around after him. Shutting the little door, he made his way up into the living quarters of the new manor.

He first had to exit the greenhouse, tucked away in the corner of the large garden. Making his way up the stone-laid pathway, he ascended the marble steps and pushed open the white, ribbed glass door into the cool, tiled entry way.

He shivered, summoning a knitted vest over his back, one of Miss Lovegood's latest creations. Cariño was in Northern Spain, and it hadn't exactly the climate he expected. But then again, it was perhaps better for an Englishman such as himself to stick to a mostly cool and wet vilage for his permanent residence instead of fighting with the burning heat of Cadiz or Malaga on the daily. He didn't want his shoe soles sticking to the ground during his morning walks.

Cariño had its beauty according to Miss Lovegood. Then again. She found everything beautiful and perfect and splendid.

The grass was green and lush, perfect for the herbivore creatures. There was enough rain for the rain buckets. The heat was tolerable enough and there was a beach nearby for swimming. And there was plenty of fish, and milk and fresh fruit around and the market was filled with the nicest people she'd ever met. In short, she was happy here. And if Miss Lovegood was happy, so was he.

And it was a beautiful day. Taking a moment to stare out the window, Lucius watched the tree leaves rustle in the gentle breeze and the sun flickering in and out of the greenery.

Perhaps today would be the day he finally got his trunks out from under his bed and began to pack. He closed the curtain with a deep sigh.

He had hoped somewhere between now and the moment he got to his chambers, Miss Lovegood would appear and stop him with one request or anouther. But as fate would have it, she was gone.

So he reached his room alone, pulled out the trunks and began to summon his clothes over with the help of his wand. As the shirts and trousers and robes floated from the shelves, he magically folded them and placed them inside as slowly as he possible could.

Any minute now he could be summoned.

He folded his socks, pair by pair and lay them gently in. He folded his undergarments and then his ties and cravats. He took an extra long time polishing his pins and laying them insie the travel case.

And after his tenth pin, an approaching set of paws on the marble floor, caught him so starkly off gaurd, he nearly dropped the entire case of the ground.

"Pop, Pippin? What is it?"

The statement itself was moot. He would have followed them even if there was a dropped fork in the large dining room that needed picking up.

He dashed after them, down the steps and towards the front door. From there, he ran down towards the Thestral stables located a few yards down the field of carefully planted lemon and plum saplings until the red roof and wood and stone exterior of the bar came into view.

Pushing the door, nearly out of breath, he found Miss Lovegood crouched in the corner over a large, black Thestral mare that was making low, grunting noises.

"Mr Malfoy!" she cried, "Good of you to come! Fetch me towels and the forceps."

"Is it...happening?" he asked, panting.

"Quick!" she yelled a touch more urgently. "Charcoal is giving birth!"

-x-x-x-

Luna ran her fingers over the twitching snout of the mare. Charcoal was doing an excellent job, but unfortunately, her foal was positioned the wrong way, head first, and was having considerable trouble coming out.

Charcoal was keeping brave, but based on her uneven and deep breathing, and her slowly blinking lashes, it was clear she was just as frightened as Luna felt herself to be. Although working with Thestrals, Luna herself had never had to deliver a baby before...not one so large! She had seen other creatures in her menagerie give birth, but those creatures either had eggs or were so small, she wasn't sure she could have physically helped if she tried.

She supposed she'd have to put on a brave face too.

Mr Malfoy rushed back in with clean towels and the forceps. She took the towels from his shaking hands and laid them underneath the mare's bottom, where the tip of the foal's head had begun to show.

"What do I do?" he said quickly, looking at the mother, the emerging baby, and Luna in succession.

"I-" she took the forceps. "We need to grip the baby by the body and help her push him out."

"I will-" he took the forceps back. "Very well then Charcoal."

She held her breath as he gentle pet her belly. He had clearly never done a live birth either. Luna held Charcoal's head in her lap.

"We must encourage her," she suggested.

And so they did, giving her gentle rubs and pats and telling her to keep pushing and how proud of her they were. Luna had not noticed before how soft Mr Malfoy's voice was when he was worried, it was endearing. He looked genuinely concerned for the new mother.

"Push now," he said. "That's a good girl."

And as though understanding the intent behind his words, Charcoal gave a grunt and a heave and a small head began to emerge from her opening, covered in a thin layer of goop.

"It's working," Luna cried, smiling. "Say something else!"

And so he did.

Little by little, the full head began to emerge from Charcoal. And finally, a bit of the neck.

"Now is your turn," Luna directed. "You must reach in and try to push out the body, but don't harm her neck."

"Yes, yes," Mr Malfoy repeated. His hands shook as he lifted the forceps.

He tried to position them this and that way, awkwardly twirling them around the Thestral's opening. He looked at the foal and his brows lifted in a mix of surprise and pity and fear and apprehension...all at once.

It was then that Luna realized he was afraid just as much at harming the baby as the mother. And she reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Mr Malfoy, you have to do this. I believe in you!" she said softly.

"I know," he replied. "I believe...it's just that I am-" he swallowed. "Afraid."

"I-I am too," Luna said quickly. "But Charcoal needs you to be brave now. I need you to be brave now. Only you can do this."

His lips formed a fleeting smile.

"Very well," he croaked out.

"You are very brave and very capable."

With that, he drew in a breath and slowly inched himself closer to Charcoal. Forceps in his hands steadier by the second, he placed them at the entrance of the vulva. Then slowly sliding them upwards, he guided them towards the foal.

Charcoal shuddered in her arms, giving Luna a warning bray and beginning to stir. She pet the mare and held her down.

"There, now Charcoal. Mr Malfoy is trying to help you. Hush now, hush, it will be alright."

The mare stirred as he inched the tool deeper within.

"I- don't know what I'm looking for," he muttered.

"Just try to find the body," Luna said, "I don't know how else to describe it."

"Fine," he said with a grunt. He pushed around the interior of the mare, and finally blurted. "Perhaps I...I have it."

"Great!" Luna sighed, and then pet Charcoal. "Come on girl, you can do it! Push!"

And Charcoal began to push.

"It's working!"

Slowly, little by little, the rest of the foal's body began to emerge from the mother. Luna had never experienced something so humbling, so nerve-wrecking, so satisfying. She pet Charcoal's head and watched as the baby came out.

"Yes! Hoorah!" she cried. "Oh Charcoal I am so very proud of you!"

Finally, the baby plopped into the towels into a wet, mad mess. Instinctively, Charcoal reached back and began to lick the baby's head and neck and body. And finally, the feeble creature let out a week noise, something like a squeak and a grunt.

"Oh, oh my gosh!" Tears formed in Luna's eyes. She fought them back, rubbing her sleeve over her eyes. The baby made it.

In a matter of minutes, it was clean and very pink. It's hairs were few and it was barely able to stand, but it had already began to stir its body upwards.

"I can't believe my eyes!" she cried.

Mr Malfoy looked like he had run up and down ten flights of stairs. He watched in awe and amazement as the baby and mother bonded in the barn.

"You must have seen a baby before," Luna said without thinking.

-x-x-x-

Lucius was caught off guard. He never had. He never saw his son being born, his Draco.

Come to think of it, Narcissa had been all alone for the birth of their boy, surrounded only by her female relatives and the midwife at the Manor. Back then, only the women had been allowed to attend such a ceremony.

He shook his head.

"I have ... not."

"No?"

"No."

Lucius grinned. It was a naive question. He looked at Miss Lovegood, who was red as a beet.

"It was not customary in my day for a man to participate."

"Oh, I'm sorry," she mumbled.

"Don't be."

"It is so silly of me to ask-"

"-not at all." His smile grew wider. "In fact, I'd only just been reminded that I never have seen life being born into the world."

They sat there for a moment, looking at the baby foal.

"And what do you think?" Luna asked.

"I think it is...the most beautiful thing...I'd ever seen," he said without thinking. It had made his heartbeat quicken and his whole body fill with the most indescribable sense of calm.

He had just seen life form before his eyes: a baby Thestral taking its first breath.

And then, surprisingly for him, his eyes misted and tears began to drop down his cheeks. How utterly embarrassing! He held still, hoping it would pass, but the tears began to flow even faster.

"Mr Malfoy, are you crying?" she asked softly.

He was, there was no denying it. He would have otherwise hidden his feelings from her, but the point was probably moot because she noticed everything. Besides, there was no point in hiding it. He was leaving her tonight, so she could know something secret about it. He'd likely not see her very often once he left on his travels.

"Mr Malfoy?" He turned himself to see she had scooted over real close to him now and was sitting at his hip. Her hand was on his thigh, giving him a comforting stroke and her eyes were large and wide open. "What is it?"

"I had just seen a real baby," he said softly, suddenly comforted by her presence. "A baby born and...it made me think..."

She waited.

"About Narcissa. She was all...all alone." His tears flowed harder and his voice grew rusty. "I wasn't any help at all. I abandoned her."

She sighed. "But you said it was like so back then."

His voice grew firmer. "I am a Malfoy. I should have tried harder. To be there for her."

There was no stopping him now. The tears had begun to flow like a waterfall and he let himself sob into Miss lovegood's shoulder. It was a warm, sweet smelling shoulder and he felt himself deeply comforted to have his nose buried there. And he decided he wouldn't justify his actions. And he cried and she sat there, comforting him and patting him on the back.

Finally, when the tears stopped, they sat in a comfortable silence.

"You know, you can't change the past," she said. "But look at you now. You helped Charcoal. You were there for her!" She pulled him close. "Maybe you were not there for Draco, but you were there for a different kind of mother. And look at her, she is so thankful for your help."

When Lucius had lifted his head and watched the foal and mare sitting beside each other in the hay, he began to feel Miss Lovegood's words had reason.

"Had you always been so wise?" he teased.

"I don't know." She shrugged. "I just say what I think, if anyone cares to listen."

"You are very wise, Miss Lovegood," he concluded.

"And you, are very brave to make a change in your life. And you should be proud of yourself." She smiled.

It made Lucius feel all the more guilty for what he was about to do. But he said nothing.

They watched the little family some more, and cleaned up the towels and forceps and put out some fresh hay.

Finally, they headed back to the house. They went to their respective rooms to wash. They changed clothes. Lucius even shaved.

Then he packed the rest of his bag, went to the door to descend down to make dinner and bumped headfirst into-

"Miss Lovegood?"

"Oh?"

She stood in the doorway, stunned for a moment, looked inside and then seeing the open trunks and cases went, "Are you leaving me?"

-x-x-x-

He said he would, one of these days, in a distant future. The day felt like it could easily have been a 'soon' or a 'someday' but never a 'today'.

"You see," he spoke very quickly and confidently, "the weather is nice to fly up to the Portkey in Santander, and it's still quite early. I might have a spot of dinner up there before making my way up to England through the water-pass."

Luna shook her head. "But it is a Sunday, and you don't enjoy travelling on weekends."

"I could make an exception."

"But the laundry," she went on, "Your favorite powder blue shirt hasn't been pressed at all and you can go without it to England."

"Yes, I didn't think of that..."

"You see! You can't leave today," she chirped. "You have to at least wait for your shirt-"

"-Miss Lovegood-"

"-no!" She stomped her foot, suddenly feeling herself become an antsy as a toddler. "It doesn't have to be a rush!"

She was shaking now, considerably so, and the words came out by themselves. "I-I need you here. I don't w-want you to go."

That's when he took her by the shoulders and steadied her. Even without meeting his eye, he was sure he was giving her that charming Malfoy grin that seemed to melt everyone's convictions and tell her that she was a nuissance, and he'd be gone forever because he was only pretending to enjoy sharing this Manor in Spain with her an all the Creatures.

"Miss Lovegood...Luna...I did say I would leave someday. So that you might finally start to feel like the mistress of this new Manor. That's what you wanted?"

She nodded. "But it is your Manor as well. Malfoy Manor. I am just a Lovegood."

He laughed quickly. "We both know you are as fit to be a Malfoy as anyone." He tilted her chin and met her eye. "You are resourceful, you are brave, you are kind and you are capable of most anything you set your mind to."

"Still," she stopped him, "The Manor is in your name. Even though we are in Spain, even though we are away, the Manor still accepts you as the rightful owner. And so does the law."

"About that." His expression turned calculating. "I suppose I've dragged this on for too long. Should be out with it," he mumbled. "Miss Lovegood, there is only one official way I can pass on the Manor to you, so that you are Mistress in name and deed."

"Which is?"

His face softened, his eyes turning a dreamier shade of grey. "Marry me."

She stood there, breath catching in her throat, contemplating what exactly he was offering her. Marriage. Of course. Was it?

Luna had expected anything but that. It caught her entirely off guard. She had very vaguely imagined marriage for other people, but never for herself. And yet, it was just that...an agreement between two people to build something greater than themselves. In this case, the Manor for all her Creatures.

But it also entailed feelings, those which Luna had never thought she'd feel for a man. She had known boys in her school days, some she'd gone on dates with and even some she kissed, but that couldn't have been what love was. Not the kind of love her Mum and Papa once had. One that was all consuming and burning and warm.

"I assure you, it is nothing untoward. Merely a legal binding agreement," he said all at once. "There would be no other subtexts...or anything untoward-"

But Luna did feel all those ways with Mr Malfoy. He had been a bright light in her life. He made her feel warm, and happy and safe. And she felt deep within her heart, that if he was nearby, that everything would work out just fine.

"-you should know that no matter what you say, the Manor is still yours. Completely yours-"

And yet, she didn't think she loved Mr Malfoy. But all the signs were there. So what more could there be? Unless there wasn't any more. Unless this was it.

"-and if you met someone you liked very much and you want to be with them, I suppose I would be alright with that...although I do admit I would be a bit jealous-"

And she'd be more than okay with that.

"-I don't care what anyone thinks-"

"-yes."

"-if they have an issue with it, they'd have to go through me and I assure you-"

"-yes."

"-I will tell them- pardon me?"

She grabbed his hands. "Yes. I do!"

He stared at her, and then he smiled. "Very well. Err- but perhaps you can tell me what exactly your 'I do' means."

She sighed. "Mr Malfoy, I do wish to marry you. BUT!" She held up a finger, "you must promise that you won't leave. After all, who will make sure Charcoal's foal is well weaned?"

And then, his face grew very jolly and warm indeed. "As you wish, Mrs Malfoy," he said, giving her hands a squeeze. "Is everything alright?"

"Maybe two promises," she said quickly. "That you must not call me Mrs Malfoy. Only Luna."

"Luna," he said softly. "So it shall be."

-x-x-x-

Mr Malfoy did not wish to be married on a Sunday. He always found Saturdays a right sort of day for matrimony: Friday was for travel and Sunday was for nursing the hangovers.

Luna did not wish to be married without her papa and her friends, therefore the wedding was held in two fortnights, and not the following week as Mr Malfoy suggested.

She had penned out all the wedding invitations, and Mr Malfoy had taken it upon himself to order cases of fine Rojas wine and much seafood for the guests to indulge in.

Luna had designed the dress and suit, and Mr Malfoy complied with wearing his part of the ensemble.

She had decorated the entire Manor. Mr Malfoy had paid for it.

It was a grand event. Mrs Meddledrap was the officiant and her Papa shed a tear as he walked his little girl down the aisle. Pop and Pippin were the ring bearers and the entire crowd of guests beamed as they nearly pocketed the rings for themselves.

It was entirely odd affair. The notorious widower Mr Malfoy and the odd recluse that was Miss Lovegood. No one dared ask how they made it work. And when the wine was brought out, they didn't need to. Besides, they were in Spain, for Cauldron's Sake, what could be better?

As for the logistics, Malfoy Manor remained as it were, and the new Mistress became Luna Malfoy.

The moment she changed her surname, the entire house seemed to come alive again. The walls brightened and the windows shone extra bright. Even the flowers and shrubs around opened and greeted their new mistress with drops of evening dew.

There were no roses of course. Mr Malfoy asked for there to be none, and Luna had no issue granting him his only wish.

And all the Magical Creatures roamed the grounds after the ceremony, and much to the amazement of the guests, were well behaved and allowed themselves to be pet and cuddled.

It was, in short, a grand affair. It was a happy story, with a happy ending.

It began with a letter, involved a Manor, a widower with a heart of gold, and a shy witch with a talent for making the best bloom all around her, and two naughty Nifflers and one Thestral and her foal.

All was well.

~Peskipiksi Pesternomi~

A/N: Thank you kindly for reading, for interacting, for liking and for leaving your comments. I appreciate it all! This was a fun and different kind of pairing for me to write, and I must say although challenging, I enjoyed it immensely.