The Talent Show

Chapter 2 - The Forest

A/N: okay, so I realized that I forgot to mention in the last chapter that all the characters here that I'm using belong to J.K. Rowling and that Harry Potter is her brain baby. So anything you recognize is her's. Okay, on with the story, yay!

Apparently, the only place Draco's pathetic mind could come up with to be alone was the Forbidden Forest. What kind of stupid idea was that? Who was dumb enough to willingly venture into a forest dangerous enough to be forbidden to wizards? Honestly, Draco could barely call himself a Slytherin at this point. He was in a dark forest, ruining his best shoes, tearing up his favorite cloak, and for what?

Oh, that's right. He saw Loony Lovegood duck in here literally two seconds ago. And apparently he followed her?

Oops.

Well, since he was there already, he figured he might as well wander around for a little. Maybe keep an eye out for Loony. Casually though of course.

And so, that was how Draco found himself wandering through the Forbidden Forest in the middle of the afternoon in late April when he should have been catcalling Slytherin girls wearing too much makeup and too few clothes.

To be honest, he'd been asking himself when doing that had lost its appeal. He couldn't be certain, but he was pretty sure it was the day Loony showed up to that Quidditch match with a huge lion head. Even though she'd been wearing the enemy's colours, there was something undeniably attractive in the way she seemed to confuse even herself every time the head roared. It was like she was calmly aware of a beast on her head but was surprised when it voiced its opinion. Draco had loved it.

After a performance like that, it was impossible for Draco to be interested in anything less. It was like trying to live with the mediocre after having seen something truly magnificent. Like going back to instant coffee after trying (and loving) Italian espresso.

Make no mistake, he'd made a valiant effort. He'd dated several girls, all of them Slytherin and all of them *ahem* experienced. But they'd all dumped him. Some of them hated his stupid comments about Loony's hair. Some of them thought he never paid attention to them (they were right; he was always busy checking to see where Loony was). Some of them had the audacity to accuse him if having an all-consuming crush on Loony. He wouldn't deny that he had an all-consuming something for the witch, but a crush? How base. How infantile. How spectacularly impossible. He simply enjoyed making fun of her. All the time.

These were the thoughts circling Draco's mind as he ducked branches and pushed through shrubs. He wasn't exactly sure what he was looking for. He knew Loony would be around nearby, but he had no idea where. He'd often seen her disappear into the forest, but had never had the guts to follow her. Now, it was just his luck that he had the guts and an excuse but no Loony.

He kept walking until the first branch stabbed up through his shoe and right in between his toes. It was at that point that Draco realized that looking for Loony in a massive forest at the end of the day when he had only a few hours' worth of sunlight was maybe not his brightest idea. In fact, it was such a stupid idea that he decided right then and there to turn around, go back to the castle, and never think of Loony ever again.

Draco really meant to keep that promise to himself. He was even turning around to do exactly that when he first heard the singing. He was a little wary, as was to be expected. He was, after all, in an enchanted forest where disembodied voices that sang should be regarded with extreme caution. However, it only took him three seconds to fall in love with the voice.

The first second was to realize that the tune of the song was something he recognized to be mundane.

The second second was to notice to words. Nothing magical about them.

The third second was to recognize Loony's voice.

Draco was off and running before he even remember to fix the hole in the bottom of his shoe. He followed Loony's voice through trees and into a cave. But the cave was actually a tunnel and on the other side, there was a small clearing.

The clearing was the kind of green Draco usually preferred to associate with his House. After all, who or what else would be worthy of claiming such a deep and majestic shade of emerald? However, to every rule there are exceptions. Loony was the exception.

There was no way there was anything more glorious than the sight of Loony Lovegood perched on a low-hanging tree branch with her long blonde hair blowing in the breeze. She was wearing a huge violet and yellow jumper with sleeves that went all the way down to her knees. Draco assumed she was wearing a skirt, but the hem of the jumper covered it. Her legs were far from bare though. Bright blue leggings peeked out from her jumper, leading down to red trainers that Draco was sure Potter had called 'converse' at some point.

All in all, it was a sight to behold. Draco felt blessed.

Of course, being blessed is something Draco had always known he was. He was, after all, Merlin's gift to witches (and on occasion, wizards) everywhere The question now was to figure out how he could use this newest gift.

Unfortunately, before he could come up with anything really excellent, Loony stopped singing and said calmly, "Draco, I know you're there. You'd best come out of the tunnel before the Snagglerooks get you. I've read they particularly like blokes with blonde hair and grey eyes."

Draco had a one liner ready before he even knew what he was doing. "Do you and Snagglerooks have that in common?"

"No, but it would appear that we do share a love of small, poorly dressed mice."

There was something so absurd about the way she said it, never mind the statement itself , that made Draco choke on his own laughter. Loony cocked her head to the side and asked calmly, "Did you eat a Whisperrye on your way in?"

It made him laugh even harder, and Draco decided then and there that he was going to find a way to make absolutely sure that Loony was going to be in the talent show, and that she was going to be so bloody good that everyone would listen when she talked about her stupid Nargles and Wackspurts or whatever she was always rambling about.

The first part of his plan was to make sure Loony actually had a talent beside dressing strangely and making him laugh.

Draco collected himself enough to ask bluntly, "Are you good at anything, Loony?"

She thought for a long moment, "I can hold my breath for three and a half minutes."

"Good, good. Not exactly what we're looking for right now, but I'll keep that in mind."

"It will be helpful to know if you ever decide to drown me."

Draco was chuckling again before he really processed her comment. There was something about the way she spoke that made him be honest about his reactions. He also had to stop and wonder how often she make a joke in that breathy voice and no one bothered to notice. But that was for another time. Right now, he was going to cajole her into singing for him again, just to make sure she was good.

It turned out to be harder than anticipated. But Draco had decided that he was going to hear her sing, and Draco Malfoy's decisions were always, always carried through.