Stuck with Me [Harry Potter]

Chapter 10 - A Revealing Chest Game

Draco sat in the leather chair next to the fireplace later in the day, a few pieces of wrinkled paper in hand. He looked over some of the The Quibbler manuscripts, made some notes, and began reading one about the very thing that he and Luna encountered—the snorkack.

"Her father definitely made it off of that massive cat," he said, remembering Luna's reaction to him saying that those creatures weren't real and made up by her father.

Luna was known at school as a loon and as a girl without emotion. It profoundly shocked him to see her burst into tears—a side of Luna Lovegood that her closest friends probably hadn't even seen.

He sighed as he handled the manuscript papers. Another memory entered his head, one right after he had defeated the cat-beast... His cheeks began to heat up, and his pulse rose.

He didn't even think of the reaction it would cause him when he decided to cover Luna with his whole body, trying to protect her from that wild animal. His cheeks burned more as he remembered the curve of her warm body against him, the way their chests moved up and down with one another... hers with extra cushion... the way her two legs had a tight hold of one of his, how close he was to those pink lips of hers...

He threw the manuscripts onto the small, cluttered table next to him and rubbed his forehead with his hand. "You imbecilic fool. Remember you're still a Death Eater."

But Luna didn't care that he was one. She made that known to him. The first time she touched his tattoo sent shivers up his spine, but the second time...

He groaned. Oh, how he wanted to kiss her right there. It took every ounce of will-power to not kiss her—hand on his arm, fingers still on the Dark Mark...

It wasn't like he hadn't kissed a girl before. Given that his first experience of it was totally an accident—Pansy tripping on her heels at the Yule Ball, him catching her, and their lips meeting on accident... But he hadn't really had the urge to kiss a girl before. With Pansy, it was quick, and both dismissed it. At least he did—she developed a wild crush on him after that.

Now if that same thing were to happen with Luna, at this moment, there would be no stopping him from snogging the very life out of her.

Draco suddenly shot up out of his seat, heart pounding like a maniac, and face so hot he had to go over to the sink in the kitchen and splash cold water on it. He breathed deeply, in and out, trying and calm his swarming emotions. He looked out the window, his face dripping. There was Luna, lying in the grass, gazing up at the sky.

He thought back to when he saw her at school, in passing, or at meals. He thought her crazy. The school freak. A girl whose father was hated by his father. Never would he have even thought that she would make him feel what she was making him feel now. It was ludicrous.

"It's only been a few days," he told himself, eyes on Luna. "This will all pass."

Hopefully.

He huffed through his nose, refusing to be in denial, and found himself going outside into the warm air and sitting next to Luna as she stared up at the sky. She remained silent. Draco looked at her. A dreamy expression grazed her pretty face.

Yes, he was able to admit that Luna was pretty. In fact, very pretty. Beautiful, even, just like her mother in the picture. It shocked his system that he thought so.

He looked up at the sky and only saw puffy clouds. What was it that she saw up there besides fair weather and water molecules?

"Beautiful..." she muttered, but he kept his gaze on the sky.

"What do you see up there?" he asked.

"Clouds."

"Yes, but what else? You stare at the sky in a dreamy state all the time."