Four reasons Luna didn't love Draco (G) for x0whitelily0x
Title: Four reasons Luna didn't love Draco (and one reason why she did)
Author: catchthecat (pinch-hitter)
Recipient: x0whitelily0x
Rating: G
Character/Pairing: Luna/Draco
Summary: Luna, being the rational person that she is, makes a list.
Disclaimer: The characters, places and creatures mentioned belong to JKR. I am not profiting from this work.
Author Notes: I've never written this pairing before, but it turned out to be fun! This is just a drabble, but x0whitelilyx0 is the first person to whom I'll send any other Luna/Draco fic I write. Special thanks to Ellie, my stunning sororal beta.
Luna generally liked everyone. She believed that people were all inherently good (though she admitted that some people needed to be reminded of their own goodness). But there were very few people she loved.
She loved her father, and her mother who was dead, and she loved Ginny who was nice to her without being condescending. And she was beginning to love Harry and Hermione and Ron and Neville, and she thought that this was a good thing, because they were all very good people.
But she also loved Draco Malfoy. And this was not a good thing. There were, she told herself, many reasons not to love Draco Malfoy. Many excellent, reasonable reasons. But she did love him, and it was becoming a problem.
Despite what many people thought about her, Luna was quite a rational person. She always laughed a little when people rolled their eyes at her reports of rare creatures on campus, or when they made fun of the Quibbler because being rational wasn't about only believing what had been proven. It was about broadening one's mind, and accepting that things weren't always what they seemed. In this way, she thought, Draco was very much like the Crumble-Horned Snorkack.
But that was beside the point, she told herself. Despite what she saw in Draco, there were many things that should make her not love him. And, being the rational person that she was, she decided to make a list of these things.
She sat down in a corner of the library, and stuck the end of a lock of hair into her mouth to help her think. After a moment, she scribbled onto a piece of parchment.
Reasons I Do Not Love Draco Malfoy
1. He is a bully.
She'd seen him at it, countless times. She'd watched him in the Great Hall when he had shoved aside first years, and in the corridors when he'd tripped up and threatened other students. He was even a bully to his friends. Pansy fawned over him, and Crabbe and Goyle were as loyal as dogs. And yet he treated them more like house-elves than friends. And that wasn't even counting what he did to his enemies...
This brought up another point, so she wrote underneath item one,
1a. He doesn't like my friends.
Sometimes the things he did made Luna think that Draco would have done well in Ravenclaw. If he ever diverted his creativity and acumen to academic pursuits, he could rival Hermione in the class ranks. But she understood why he didn't. Bullies weren't born, they were made. She could only guess at his family life, but from what she know of his father, Draco might have learned his technique from home. And she knew from personal experience that people only mistreated other people when they felt bad about themselves. If Michael Corner, for instance, hadn't been angry about being dumped by Ginny, he probably wouldn't have spilled ink in her hair the day before. It made her wonder what Draco was trying to cover up with all of his bravado.
2. He sneers quite a lot.
She didn't like when people sneered, and Draco's sneers made him look like a ferret. But she had seen him when he wasn't sneering, and really he looked rather lovely. She let her mind drift for a moment to the image of his face lit up with true delight, framed by the blonde hair that looked so much like her own. She'd glimpsed him smiling like that by chance last June while she was wandering through the Herbology gardens. He had been reading a letter behind one of the greenhouses, and from where she stood she could just make out Narcissa Malfoy's signature. It was one of her most treasured memories.
3. He aspires to be a Death Eater.
This was a rather big one. But it went back to environment, she supposed. Nothing about him told her that he truly wanted to kill people, or torture them, or do any of that nasty stuff Death Eaters did. He wasn't evil, she knew. His father was a prominent Death Eater, everyone knew that. And he came from a long line of dark wizards. Really, what choice did he have? He was branded from the beginning. What a person said couldn't prove what a person believed, or what he was truly like.
He could have said no, she thought fiercely. What if he did believe everything the Death Eaters said, and what if she was wrong about him being evil? He should have said no. She sighed. It was a hollow argument, she knew. The world was so rarely simple.
But what if he had someone else to turn to, someone who wasn't a Death Eater...
She bit her lip. Maybe this list wasn't such a good idea. When she thought about it, nothing made sense anymore. No, she thought, I'm not being rational. She had to stop thinking about this in such black-and-white terms. What would her father say if he could see into her head right now? She smiled at the thought of his appalled expression. Never doubt that which hasn't been proved wrong, he would tell her. The world wasn't two dimensional, and neither were people. She had to give everyone a chance. She sighed, and wrote out another sentence.
4. He is not good with hippogriffs.
That, at least, was something she couldn't quibble about.
Luna glanced at her watch. It was almost time. Excuses or no, her list did make a compelling argument, and part of her wanted to go back to Ravenclaw Tower and forget about Draco Malfoy. But another part, the rational part, made her stay at the table a little longer. She thought wistfully of her Dirigible Plum earrings. She should have worn them this evening, to help her accept what she knew to be true. She loved Draco Malfoy.
“Luna,” someone called softly through the shelves. She turned at the sound of her name, and saw Draco walking toward her. “I thought you wouldn't come.” His smile cut through the library gloom.
“Of course I came,” she said. She reached out and laced her fingers through his. As he pulled her toward him, she thought that she would have to make a new list when she got back to the Tower. A list of reasons she loved Draco Malfoy. He kissed her gently, and she sighed.
Number one on the new list, she thought dreamily, would be, He loves me.
~
This is the mod account for this community, not the author's account. Please let it be noted that I do not take credit for
this person's work. Their name will be revealed in this post and another community post on May 31st.
Author: catchthecat (pinch-hitter)
Recipient: x0whitelily0x
Rating: G
Character/Pairing: Luna/Draco
Summary: Luna, being the rational person that she is, makes a list.
Disclaimer: The characters, places and creatures mentioned belong to JKR. I am not profiting from this work.
Author Notes: I've never written this pairing before, but it turned out to be fun! This is just a drabble, but x0whitelilyx0 is the first person to whom I'll send any other Luna/Draco fic I write. Special thanks to Ellie, my stunning sororal beta.
Luna generally liked everyone. She believed that people were all inherently good (though she admitted that some people needed to be reminded of their own goodness). But there were very few people she loved.
She loved her father, and her mother who was dead, and she loved Ginny who was nice to her without being condescending. And she was beginning to love Harry and Hermione and Ron and Neville, and she thought that this was a good thing, because they were all very good people.
But she also loved Draco Malfoy. And this was not a good thing. There were, she told herself, many reasons not to love Draco Malfoy. Many excellent, reasonable reasons. But she did love him, and it was becoming a problem.
Despite what many people thought about her, Luna was quite a rational person. She always laughed a little when people rolled their eyes at her reports of rare creatures on campus, or when they made fun of the Quibbler because being rational wasn't about only believing what had been proven. It was about broadening one's mind, and accepting that things weren't always what they seemed. In this way, she thought, Draco was very much like the Crumble-Horned Snorkack.
But that was beside the point, she told herself. Despite what she saw in Draco, there were many things that should make her not love him. And, being the rational person that she was, she decided to make a list of these things.
She sat down in a corner of the library, and stuck the end of a lock of hair into her mouth to help her think. After a moment, she scribbled onto a piece of parchment.
Reasons I Do Not Love Draco Malfoy
1. He is a bully.
She'd seen him at it, countless times. She'd watched him in the Great Hall when he had shoved aside first years, and in the corridors when he'd tripped up and threatened other students. He was even a bully to his friends. Pansy fawned over him, and Crabbe and Goyle were as loyal as dogs. And yet he treated them more like house-elves than friends. And that wasn't even counting what he did to his enemies...
This brought up another point, so she wrote underneath item one,
1a. He doesn't like my friends.
Sometimes the things he did made Luna think that Draco would have done well in Ravenclaw. If he ever diverted his creativity and acumen to academic pursuits, he could rival Hermione in the class ranks. But she understood why he didn't. Bullies weren't born, they were made. She could only guess at his family life, but from what she know of his father, Draco might have learned his technique from home. And she knew from personal experience that people only mistreated other people when they felt bad about themselves. If Michael Corner, for instance, hadn't been angry about being dumped by Ginny, he probably wouldn't have spilled ink in her hair the day before. It made her wonder what Draco was trying to cover up with all of his bravado.
2. He sneers quite a lot.
She didn't like when people sneered, and Draco's sneers made him look like a ferret. But she had seen him when he wasn't sneering, and really he looked rather lovely. She let her mind drift for a moment to the image of his face lit up with true delight, framed by the blonde hair that looked so much like her own. She'd glimpsed him smiling like that by chance last June while she was wandering through the Herbology gardens. He had been reading a letter behind one of the greenhouses, and from where she stood she could just make out Narcissa Malfoy's signature. It was one of her most treasured memories.
3. He aspires to be a Death Eater.
This was a rather big one. But it went back to environment, she supposed. Nothing about him told her that he truly wanted to kill people, or torture them, or do any of that nasty stuff Death Eaters did. He wasn't evil, she knew. His father was a prominent Death Eater, everyone knew that. And he came from a long line of dark wizards. Really, what choice did he have? He was branded from the beginning. What a person said couldn't prove what a person believed, or what he was truly like.
He could have said no, she thought fiercely. What if he did believe everything the Death Eaters said, and what if she was wrong about him being evil? He should have said no. She sighed. It was a hollow argument, she knew. The world was so rarely simple.
But what if he had someone else to turn to, someone who wasn't a Death Eater...
She bit her lip. Maybe this list wasn't such a good idea. When she thought about it, nothing made sense anymore. No, she thought, I'm not being rational. She had to stop thinking about this in such black-and-white terms. What would her father say if he could see into her head right now? She smiled at the thought of his appalled expression. Never doubt that which hasn't been proved wrong, he would tell her. The world wasn't two dimensional, and neither were people. She had to give everyone a chance. She sighed, and wrote out another sentence.
4. He is not good with hippogriffs.
That, at least, was something she couldn't quibble about.
Luna glanced at her watch. It was almost time. Excuses or no, her list did make a compelling argument, and part of her wanted to go back to Ravenclaw Tower and forget about Draco Malfoy. But another part, the rational part, made her stay at the table a little longer. She thought wistfully of her Dirigible Plum earrings. She should have worn them this evening, to help her accept what she knew to be true. She loved Draco Malfoy.
“Luna,” someone called softly through the shelves. She turned at the sound of her name, and saw Draco walking toward her. “I thought you wouldn't come.” His smile cut through the library gloom.
“Of course I came,” she said. She reached out and laced her fingers through his. As he pulled her toward him, she thought that she would have to make a new list when she got back to the Tower. A list of reasons she loved Draco Malfoy. He kissed her gently, and she sighed.
Number one on the new list, she thought dreamily, would be, He loves me.
~
This is the mod account for this community, not the author's account. Please let it be noted that I do not take credit for
this person's work. Their name will be revealed in this post and another community post on May 31st.