Luna Lovegood wasn’t your typical Ravenclaw.
She was intelligent, that was for sure, and she could recite spells and potions ingredients and facts like nobody’s business. But that didn’t change the fact that for a Ravenclaw, she was just a little bit … odd. In fact, one could even venture to say that she was downright illogical, which was entirely out of line for a Ravenclaw.
For instance, tonight when everyone else was in their respective Common Rooms, chatting by the fireplace or playing Exploding Snap, Luna was ambling along the corridors, looking for signs of the Nargle infestation that her father had written to warn her about. She was wearing a belt fashioned out of Hawthorne leaves to protect herself from the Nargles and she was carrying a small vial of Dragonsvine nectar (which she’d collected herself from the Forbidden Forest) to get rid of the Nargles. It would be her good deed for the day.
She’d just turned the corner onto the Charms corridor when she heard voices. Curious, she ventured closer until she could just make out what they were saying. One of the voices was extremely familiar.
“Give it to me!”
“Didn’t your parents ever teach you to say ‘please’?”
“Malfoy, I’m warning you…”
“What’re you going to do, recite bad love poetry at me? I consider myself warned.”
“I’m not above making you scream like a girl, Malfoy.”
“I’d like to see you try.”
“Aaarrghhh!”
There was a thump, and Luna peered into one of the classrooms to see Draco Malfoy on the floor, looking decidedly rumpled (for once) and her good friend Ginny Weasley sitting atop him, skirt spread around her, one hand clutching her wand.
They were staring at each other with some intensity. Luna actually felt the temperature in the room go up by a few degrees. Ah. She saw how it was. So this was why Ginny was always stomping around and ranting about ‘Malfoy this’ and ‘Malfoy that’. This was one of those things. Luna smiled to herself.
“Hello, Ginny, Malfoy,” she greeted, nodding at them placidly, as if she hadn’t just witnessed the stunner of the century.
“Luna!” Ginny sprang off Draco, who stood up slowly, brushing imaginary lint off his clothes.
“I’ll thank you not to jump me in the future, Weasley.”
“You wish, Malfoy.”
Luna realised – too late – that if she had not greeted them, things might have progressed quite differently. “Oh, don’t let me interrupt; I just wanted to say hello. Carry on, please.”
“What are you talking about?”
“No, I insist. I’ll just be on my way. You were about to make some progression in the way of relieving your repressed sexual tension, I believe.”
~
Draco had heard many strange things in his life. However, none (not even when Goyle had confessed that he and Millicent had been secretly shagging for months) seemed to rival the words that were coming out of Loony Lovegood at the moment. Him? The Weaselette? Sexual tension? The idea was so ludicrous that he would have laughed out loud if not for the fact that he had been stunned into silence.
Draco had never had feelings for the Weaselette other than those of hate. Sure, it was hate that was fuelled by their respective parents’ animosity, but it was sincere nonetheless. Her hair was an awful garish red, they were dirt-poor and they did lack class. Beyond that, the Weaselette herself was a typical Gryffindor – loud, annoying and self-righteous. She also had quite the backbone (a trait he grudgingly respected, though he wouldn’t admit it, even if a wand were pointed to his neck).
“Luna!” Ginny sounded horrified. “You can’t be serious.”
Draco was certain that he looked equally horrified. “You’re touched in the head.” He turned to Ginny, who, being accustomed to defending Luna from people who cast aspersions on her sanity, had made a noise of protest. “Do you disagree?” His mouth widened into something which might be called a smile. “Did you think we were about to relieve some of that ‘repressed sexual tension’?
Ginny glared. “That’s disgusting, Malfoy. I’d have to be Imperiused before I’d touch you with a ten-foot pole.” She turned to Luna. “How can you possibly think that I have any sort of feelings for him?”
“Hey, I’ll have you know that plenty of girls do,” Draco told Ginny indignantly. “Though I wouldn’t expect a Weasley to have taste,” he added, bristling at her look of disdain. How could the Weaslette speak of him as if he were dirt off her shoe? He was a Malfoy and she a mere Weasley! “In any case, you can be certain that I have absolutely no interest in the Weasel,” he told Luna.
“Oh, that’s what you say,” Luna said knowingly, “but there clearly is some unresolved sexual tension going on here.”
“You’re nutters,” Draco told her.
“That’s what everyone tells me all the time. But what I really am is right,” Luna corrected triumphantly, smiling benignly at Draco and Ginny, who were eying each other with unconcealed hostility.
Clearly, there was some serious denial going on here.
But she knew better. There was something there.
Something would have to be done.
~
As Ginny and Luna walked back to their respective common rooms (which went along the same route for some part of the way), Ginny was aware of Luna’s eyes on her. She resolutely ignored the Ravenclaw until she saw the small, secretive smile playing at the corner of Luna’s lips, which always spelt trouble.
Ginny felt it necessary to clear things up. “Luna, what you saw was completely the result of an accident. The stupid git took my wand, and I fell onto him while trying to get it back. That’s all.” After their Prefect’s meeting she’d absentmindedly left her wand behind and had to go back to get it. With her luck, Malfoy had been the only one left and had pocketed it. She had lost her balance while trying to get it back. Why was Luna making such a big deal out of nothing?
“That may have been the case,” Luna allowed, “but what happened after is what’s interesting.”
“Nothing happened after that! You said hi, and he removed his grubby hands from me.” Granted, there may have been a slight pause after she had found herself sitting astride him, but that was clearly attributable to shock, and absolutely not anything like attraction or sexual tension or something equally ludicrous.
“And what if I hadn’t showed up? Think you’d be in a broom closet now?”
“I’d be stuffing him into a broom closet, more like,” Ginny said darkly.
So Malfoy had looked kind of good with his hair all mussed and collar out of place when she’d accidentally fallen onto him. Not to mention that he had nice broad shoulders that she’d never noticed before. And that his eyes were quite lovely. But these discoveries didn’t change anything. She wasn’t one of those shallow girls who fell for guys based solely on looks.
“In any case,” Ginny continued, “you can stop with all this speculation. You of all people know how much I hate Malfoy.”
“Tsk. Hate is strong word, Gin,” Luna warned. “And from what I saw, something was definitely up, if you know what I mean.”
“Huh—ohh! Luna, that’s disgusting!”
“I was joking,” Luna said with a grin. “But you did look perfectly content sitting on him,” she continued with a little eyebrow wiggle.
“Luna, how can you possibly think I like Malfoy? He’s arrogant and rude and a total pain in the butt.”
“Yes, but I was just thinking on it, and he fits all the things you like in a boy – he’s tall, he’s got a nice chest, nice intense eyes…”
Yes, Ginny had noticed. She’d also noticed that up close, Malfoy’s lashes were very long – extremely long for a boy; quite unfair really – and that he smelt faintly of peppermint, but there was no need for Luna to know that. “You mean all the physical things.”
Luna shrugged. “That’s half the battle.”
Ginny made a noise of exasperation. “Well, it doesn’t matter. I don’t even consider Malfoy a boy, to be honest. He’s just … Malfoy. His personality stinks.”
“Really? How would you know? Have you talked to him? Have the two of you had long, deep, secret conversations with him that you haven’t mentioned?” Luna asked archly.
“Luna.” Ginny rolled her eyes at how ridiculous her friend was being. “I don’t need to have a conversation with him to know what he’s like. Don’t forget, he’s made my life a living hell the past six years.”
“But—”
“Ohh, I’ve got to turn here. See you tomorrow, Lu!”
With that, Ginny hopped onto a moving staircase, glad to get away from her friend. Luna was often coming up with one harebrained scheme or another, but this one had to take the cake. She and Malfoy? Pfft. It would never happen in a million years.
~
She was intelligent, that was for sure, and she could recite spells and potions ingredients and facts like nobody’s business. But that didn’t change the fact that for a Ravenclaw, she was just a little bit … odd. In fact, one could even venture to say that she was downright illogical, which was entirely out of line for a Ravenclaw.
For instance, tonight when everyone else was in their respective Common Rooms, chatting by the fireplace or playing Exploding Snap, Luna was ambling along the corridors, looking for signs of the Nargle infestation that her father had written to warn her about. She was wearing a belt fashioned out of Hawthorne leaves to protect herself from the Nargles and she was carrying a small vial of Dragonsvine nectar (which she’d collected herself from the Forbidden Forest) to get rid of the Nargles. It would be her good deed for the day.
She’d just turned the corner onto the Charms corridor when she heard voices. Curious, she ventured closer until she could just make out what they were saying. One of the voices was extremely familiar.
“Give it to me!”
“Didn’t your parents ever teach you to say ‘please’?”
“Malfoy, I’m warning you…”
“What’re you going to do, recite bad love poetry at me? I consider myself warned.”
“I’m not above making you scream like a girl, Malfoy.”
“I’d like to see you try.”
“Aaarrghhh!”
There was a thump, and Luna peered into one of the classrooms to see Draco Malfoy on the floor, looking decidedly rumpled (for once) and her good friend Ginny Weasley sitting atop him, skirt spread around her, one hand clutching her wand.
They were staring at each other with some intensity. Luna actually felt the temperature in the room go up by a few degrees. Ah. She saw how it was. So this was why Ginny was always stomping around and ranting about ‘Malfoy this’ and ‘Malfoy that’. This was one of those things. Luna smiled to herself.
“Hello, Ginny, Malfoy,” she greeted, nodding at them placidly, as if she hadn’t just witnessed the stunner of the century.
“Luna!” Ginny sprang off Draco, who stood up slowly, brushing imaginary lint off his clothes.
“I’ll thank you not to jump me in the future, Weasley.”
“You wish, Malfoy.”
Luna realised – too late – that if she had not greeted them, things might have progressed quite differently. “Oh, don’t let me interrupt; I just wanted to say hello. Carry on, please.”
“What are you talking about?”
“No, I insist. I’ll just be on my way. You were about to make some progression in the way of relieving your repressed sexual tension, I believe.”
~
Draco had heard many strange things in his life. However, none (not even when Goyle had confessed that he and Millicent had been secretly shagging for months) seemed to rival the words that were coming out of Loony Lovegood at the moment. Him? The Weaselette? Sexual tension? The idea was so ludicrous that he would have laughed out loud if not for the fact that he had been stunned into silence.
Draco had never had feelings for the Weaselette other than those of hate. Sure, it was hate that was fuelled by their respective parents’ animosity, but it was sincere nonetheless. Her hair was an awful garish red, they were dirt-poor and they did lack class. Beyond that, the Weaselette herself was a typical Gryffindor – loud, annoying and self-righteous. She also had quite the backbone (a trait he grudgingly respected, though he wouldn’t admit it, even if a wand were pointed to his neck).
“Luna!” Ginny sounded horrified. “You can’t be serious.”
Draco was certain that he looked equally horrified. “You’re touched in the head.” He turned to Ginny, who, being accustomed to defending Luna from people who cast aspersions on her sanity, had made a noise of protest. “Do you disagree?” His mouth widened into something which might be called a smile. “Did you think we were about to relieve some of that ‘repressed sexual tension’?
Ginny glared. “That’s disgusting, Malfoy. I’d have to be Imperiused before I’d touch you with a ten-foot pole.” She turned to Luna. “How can you possibly think that I have any sort of feelings for him?”
“Hey, I’ll have you know that plenty of girls do,” Draco told Ginny indignantly. “Though I wouldn’t expect a Weasley to have taste,” he added, bristling at her look of disdain. How could the Weaslette speak of him as if he were dirt off her shoe? He was a Malfoy and she a mere Weasley! “In any case, you can be certain that I have absolutely no interest in the Weasel,” he told Luna.
“Oh, that’s what you say,” Luna said knowingly, “but there clearly is some unresolved sexual tension going on here.”
“You’re nutters,” Draco told her.
“That’s what everyone tells me all the time. But what I really am is right,” Luna corrected triumphantly, smiling benignly at Draco and Ginny, who were eying each other with unconcealed hostility.
Clearly, there was some serious denial going on here.
But she knew better. There was something there.
Something would have to be done.
~
As Ginny and Luna walked back to their respective common rooms (which went along the same route for some part of the way), Ginny was aware of Luna’s eyes on her. She resolutely ignored the Ravenclaw until she saw the small, secretive smile playing at the corner of Luna’s lips, which always spelt trouble.
Ginny felt it necessary to clear things up. “Luna, what you saw was completely the result of an accident. The stupid git took my wand, and I fell onto him while trying to get it back. That’s all.” After their Prefect’s meeting she’d absentmindedly left her wand behind and had to go back to get it. With her luck, Malfoy had been the only one left and had pocketed it. She had lost her balance while trying to get it back. Why was Luna making such a big deal out of nothing?
“That may have been the case,” Luna allowed, “but what happened after is what’s interesting.”
“Nothing happened after that! You said hi, and he removed his grubby hands from me.” Granted, there may have been a slight pause after she had found herself sitting astride him, but that was clearly attributable to shock, and absolutely not anything like attraction or sexual tension or something equally ludicrous.
“And what if I hadn’t showed up? Think you’d be in a broom closet now?”
“I’d be stuffing him into a broom closet, more like,” Ginny said darkly.
So Malfoy had looked kind of good with his hair all mussed and collar out of place when she’d accidentally fallen onto him. Not to mention that he had nice broad shoulders that she’d never noticed before. And that his eyes were quite lovely. But these discoveries didn’t change anything. She wasn’t one of those shallow girls who fell for guys based solely on looks.
“In any case,” Ginny continued, “you can stop with all this speculation. You of all people know how much I hate Malfoy.”
“Tsk. Hate is strong word, Gin,” Luna warned. “And from what I saw, something was definitely up, if you know what I mean.”
“Huh—ohh! Luna, that’s disgusting!”
“I was joking,” Luna said with a grin. “But you did look perfectly content sitting on him,” she continued with a little eyebrow wiggle.
“Luna, how can you possibly think I like Malfoy? He’s arrogant and rude and a total pain in the butt.”
“Yes, but I was just thinking on it, and he fits all the things you like in a boy – he’s tall, he’s got a nice chest, nice intense eyes…”
Yes, Ginny had noticed. She’d also noticed that up close, Malfoy’s lashes were very long – extremely long for a boy; quite unfair really – and that he smelt faintly of peppermint, but there was no need for Luna to know that. “You mean all the physical things.”
Luna shrugged. “That’s half the battle.”
Ginny made a noise of exasperation. “Well, it doesn’t matter. I don’t even consider Malfoy a boy, to be honest. He’s just … Malfoy. His personality stinks.”
“Really? How would you know? Have you talked to him? Have the two of you had long, deep, secret conversations with him that you haven’t mentioned?” Luna asked archly.
“Luna.” Ginny rolled her eyes at how ridiculous her friend was being. “I don’t need to have a conversation with him to know what he’s like. Don’t forget, he’s made my life a living hell the past six years.”
“But—”
“Ohh, I’ve got to turn here. See you tomorrow, Lu!”
With that, Ginny hopped onto a moving staircase, glad to get away from her friend. Luna was often coming up with one harebrained scheme or another, but this one had to take the cake. She and Malfoy? Pfft. It would never happen in a million years.
~
Author notes: A/N: All credit goes to my wonderful, talented and extremely patient beta-reader; you know who you are :)
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