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Chapter Text

Draco

Draco was fuming.

It was bad enough Gryffindor beat Slytherin in the quidditch match yesterday, but now all anyone could talk about was bloody Potter catching the snitch an inch off the ground after a twenty-foot dive. Even Draco might have admitted to being impressed if he weren't so angry.

Upon finishing his breakfast, he stormed out of the great hall, no longer able to stomach the loud praises sung of his enemy. He strode down the corridor in search of Pansy, aiming to take out some of his frustrations on her lips, and maybe a few other parts of her.

The Slytherin common room sat in the dungeons, across the hall from a truly ugly tapestry depicting a wizard battling some manner of gnarled creature. As Draco opened his mouth to give the password, he heard an unmistakable giggle from behind the tapestry. He pulled it aside slightly to peek behind it and his jaw dropped at what he saw.

There was a small alcove in the wall, in which Pansy Parkinson was lip-locked with Seamus Finnigan. Having heard the rustle of the fabric, Pansy looked up and locked eyes with Draco. She gasped loudly and shoved Seamus off, who hit the opposite wall with an indignant grunt.

This was the last straw. He fled the scene before either of them could react. The only thought in his mind was revenge. He would get back at those stupid Gryffindors, at stupid Harry Potter, at stupid Pansy and Seamus bloody Finnigan of all people. He was walking quickly, consumed by plans for revenge, when he ran headlong into something soft and was knocked off his feet. Slightly dazed by abruptly meeting the floor and losing his deep train of thought, he was unsure who he'd hit until she spoke in a high gentle voice.

"Oh, hello Draco. You look quite angry." Luna Lovegood stood and held out a hand to help him up. "Are you alright?"

Too surprised by her use of his first name to remember to insult her, he replied, "Why would you care how I am?"

Ignoring her outstretched hand, he pulled himself to his feet, using the door handle of a nearby broom cupboard for an anchor. Luna dropped her hand to her side, not at all offended, and laughed lightly. Draco felt an odd stirring in his chest at the sound.

"That's a very silly question, you know. One with a great number of answers. All people really ought to care about others' feelings, though of course I know that most don't. I suppose I am an outlier in this case..." Luna rambled on, looking thoughtfully at the wall and not really answering his question.

While she spoke, he studied her, brow furrowed. Light blonde hair, not unlike his own, fell nearly to her arse. Her blue eyes looked unfocused and slightly too large for her face. Her wand was tucked behind her left ear, and she had what appeared to be radishes dangling from each lobe. There was also a string of butterbeer corks around her neck, which momentarily gave him pause. Moving down her body, he noted that her uniform was slightly too large and her socks did not match.

She was actually quite attractive, he decided, though it was difficult to look past her accessorizing choices. A plan formed quickly in his mind. His revenge would come faster than he had imagined.

Draco looked back up at Luna and found her silently watching him.

"What?" he asked, unsure what she'd said.

She smiled patiently. "I asked if there was anything I could help with to make you less cross. Everyone says you're cruel, but I have a theory that you simply need more friends."

He smirked. What a perfect opportunity. "Yes, actually. You're friends with Potter and that lot, aren't you?"

"That's what he's told me."

"Excellent."

With that, he pushed her into the broom cupboard.

Chapter Text

Draco

Draco entered the cupboard behind Luna and sealed the door with a quick sticking charm.

Luna tilted her head at him, catching her wand as it fell from her hair.

“Oh, did you want more privacy?”

His heart skipped a beat. Did she somehow know what he was planning? How could she? He hadn't even told her what had happened.

His fears were assuaged when she continued talking.

“Wrackspurts really are nothing to be ashamed of, Draco, most people have them. Though if you'd rather keep it quiet that you were infested, that's fine too. Up to you of course. I'm sure we'll have you rid of them in no time, and that should certainly improve your mood.”

“What the bloody hell is a...nevermind that. It's not why we're here.”

Draco stalked toward her, backing her against the wall, and put his hands on either side of her head. Luna blinked at him impassively.

What am I getting myself into? *sigh* Now or never.

He slowly lowered his head and pressed his lips to hers.

This… isn't terrible. Surprised, he committed, deepening the kiss. His right hand drifted from the wall to caress her neck, brushing her soft hair over her shoulder. Everything about Luna was soft, from her hair, to her lips, to the little curves at her waist, which Draco now held with his left hand. He began to forget his plan, and kissed her in earnest, flicking his tongue against her lower lip.

He pressed his body flush against hers to hold her in place, and Luna let out a nearly inaudible gasp, gently grabbing the front of his shirt. Draco moved his head, kissing his way down her jaw line until he reached her neck, sucking and biting at the pulse point.

Merlin she smells good. He inhaled next to her hair. She smelled of candy floss and something floral that he couldn't place. His hands wandered between them, reaching for the bottom button on her shirt. He had successfully opened two before Luna realized what he was doing and gently stopped him, holding his hands in her own.

He looked up at her, still a bit disoriented. She smiled at him gently.

“If you're doing this to get back at people for what happened this morning, I'd rather not go any further, if it's all the same. I don't believe milestones in one's life should be centered around negative feelings.”

Draco's jaw dropped.

Her eyes widened slightly, as though something had just occurred to her.

“Not that it wasn't nice, I only meant that your thoughts were on retaliation.” She said quickly.

He nodded at her, still in shock. Satisfied she hadn't offended him she carried on.

“Oh, and don't worry. I'll certainly play along with your plan if you really think it will help you feel better. I imagine I'll have quite a large mark on my neck which ought to do the trick. I'm sure my friends will ask about it. I've never been kissed before, you see, so they won't be expecting it.” She smiled brightly.

Draco hadn't the foggiest idea what to say, so he turned, unstuck the door, and left.

Chapter Text

Luna

Alone in a cupboard, having been thoroughly snogged by Draco Malfoy, Luna couldn't help but chuckle to herself.

What a strange morning.

~~

It had begun with her shoes sitting perfectly at home atop her trunk.

The night before, Ginny had found them hung over the corner of a painting high on the wall beside the portrait hole of Gryffindor tower, and returned them. Luna hadn't expected them to still be there the next day, as they always seemed to leave as soon as she'd found them. Yet when she awoke, the yellow flowery canvas shoes were right where she'd put them. She suspected Ginny had threatened her roommates.

Making a mental note to thank her friend (and ask the she not bat bogey hex her roommates) Luna skipped merrily to the great hall for breakfast.

She went to the Ravenclaw table and sat to survey the room. The great hall was always rather loud at mealtimes, but it was particularly so today. The entire Gryffindor table, and quite a large number of Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff students, were uproariously discussing yesterday's quidditch match. Luna turned to the Slytherin table and noted that they looked quite put out; some sad, some furious, and some vaguely annoyed, simply trying to eat their meals.

Blaise Zabini belonged to the final category, winking when he saw her looking at him. They had become somewhat covert friends after Luna had found him, sobbing, clinging to the wrong side of the railing atop the astronomy tower. She had a knack for ending up precisely where she was needed when she followed her instincts. She'd had no business on the tower that night, but something told her she needed to go, and so she had.

A similar instinctive feeling washed over her as she watched Draco stand abruptly and storm out of the hall, leaving a startled second year boy and an amused Blaise in his wake. As she stood to follow him, her stomach growled loudly. She decided that instincts could wait until after breakfast.

Luna finished her toast and went to follow her gut feeling. She walked down two hallways, taking a right and a left, before Draco walked straight into her. It turned out she was right where she was needed once again.

~~

I better be off to class now. She brushed her hair over her shoulder to hide the large purple love-bite on the left side of her neck, pushed open the cupboard door, and set off toward charms.

●●●●●●●

Draco

Draco spent his first class fidgeting and deep in thought.

She knew. She knew the whole time exactly what I was doing and why. How could she possibly have known? Was she spying on me?

He knew that was highly unlikely for a number of reasons, one of which being that Luna clearly did not have a subtle bone in her body and probably would have told him.

Countless questions vied for attention in his mind, becoming more and more dangerous as he spiraled.

What was she playing at by offering to help him? Would she actually do it or would she turn him in to her friends? Why hadn't she stopped him from kissing her in the first place? Would she let him kiss her again?

He jolted, startled by his own thoughts. What in Merlin's name was he thinking? He'd only kissed her to make Potter angry, and she said that she would help so that's that. Nothing else.

Blaise, having seen him jump, looked up from his notes.

“Are you okay, Malfoy?”

“Fine.” He snapped, bitter from his rogue train of thought.

Blaise rolled his eyes.

“Might be needing a new bit of parchment then.” He said, subtly teasing.

Draco looked down to see a large black stain radiating out from his quill tip. He'd been holding his inked quill in the same spot for McGonagall's entire lecture.

The class ended and Draco packed his things methodically, resolving never to lose himself in thoughts about Luna Lovegood ever again.

Chapter Text

Draco

Draco managed to keep his resolve all the way up until lunch the same day.

He watched nervously as Luna floated into the Great Hall and sat herself smack in the center of Potter's groupies. As much as Draco wished he could focus on the meal in front of him, his mind would not part with the image of running his hand through that tangled mass of curls that he now knew, for a fact, were soft.

"She is a pureblood, you know."

Draco about jumped out of his skin, not having noticed Blaise's arrival beside him.

"Blaise! I... what? Who...?" Draco spluttered, willing his heart to resume it's natural rhythm.

Blaise simply rolled his eyes.

"Luna, obviously. You and I both know you weren't exactly staring at Granger, were you? Unless it was actually Potter and you've finally got something to admit to me." Blaise said, smirking at his own joke.

As Draco turned to retort, he heard an alarmingly high pitched squeal from across the room. Looking back at the Gryffindor table, he was met by four pairs of eyes burning into his soul. 

Blaise looked from the Gryffindors' furious expressions to his best friend's face and burst into laughter.

Draco chose that moment to leave the room.

                             ●●●●●

Luna

Luna entered the Great Hall and walked straight to where Harry and his friends sat at their table. It wasn't especially unusual for her to join them during meals as she had very few friends, especially in her own house. She supposed the other Ravenclaws found her unique knowledge of rare creatures intimidating since they always left when she started to talk about them.

Sitting down, Luna greeted her friends and began to fill her plate. Not much later, her thoughts were interrupted by Harry's concerned voice.

"Uhh, Luna? Why is Malfoy staring at you?

She looked at him and smiled serenely.

"Oh, I expect it has something to do with us snogging in a broom cupboard this morning." She said, casually brushing aside the hair that had been carefully hiding the large, plum coloured mark on her neck.

The group stared at her in stunned silence for a moment, processing what they'd seen and heard.

Ginny, upon spotting the mark, let out a sound remarkably similar to that of an overheated tea kettle. Hermione looked murderous, Ron looked like he'd be sick, and Harry turned a shade of red that rather resembled the maroon of his house tie.

"I better be going now. I seem to have forgotten my charms book and I'll be needing it for my homework. Goodbye, everyone."

With that, she left, and her friends turned to glare at the Slytherin table.

Chapter Text

Draco

Luna was waiting for him just outside the Great Hall's doors.

"I think that went very well, wouldn't you say?" She said brightly.

"They certainly seemed upset." Draco muttered.

"They were. What are you planning to do now you have their attention?"

There was a significant pause as Draco attempted to answer her question.

"I... suppose... I hadn't really thought that far ahead yet." He said carefully.

"Being Gryffindors, they're likely to try to confront you about it very soon." She suddenly looked quite serious. "As much as I've offered to help you, I won't let my friends be hurt, Draco."

He scoffed, "I don't want to maim Potter, I want to irritate him."

Luna smiled gently and nodded.

"In that case, perhaps we should simply carry on as if we're together. Harry won't attack you, so long as you don't hurt me. You're my friend too, after all. It's sure to get under his skin, thinking that you're manipulating and using me for your own gain."

Draco blinked at her.

"What do you mean 'thinking'? I am using you."

Luna smiled wider.

"If you say so."

Then she leaned up on her toes and kissed his cheek.

Draco, bewildered, put a hand up to his face and watched as she skipped away down the hall.

What just happened?

and, more importantly...

What on Earth was Luna Lovegood?