Chapter 13
Confession
"What do I do now?" Draco wondered, staring down at Luna with blank eyes.
Luna rubbed his shoulder comfortingly. "If you just explain he's misunderstood everything then it will be ok. Won't it?"
"I don't know, I can't get my head around this. Stay here, I'll go and talk to him," he smiled when she squeezed his hand reassuringly.
Slipping from her side Draco crossed the neatly manicured lawn to the open double doors where he saw his father accepting a cool glass of champagne from a large silver platter held by a house elf.
"Ah, Draco, you have made your decision? Do you want me to make the announcement tonight?"
"Father, I, um, I don't understand what just happened." Draco admitted warily.
Lucius sighed heavily. "What just happened was me helping you out, Draco. You need to be pushed into doing things and it's getting tiring."
"Pushed?" Draco echoed still as confused as ever.
Raising an eyebrow mockingly Lucius said, "do you really think I cannot see what is right in front of me? Do you think I haven't seen the sickening look on your face Draco, when you think no-one is watching?" Lucius refused to admit that it had taken him a while to see it himself.
Draco's cheeks began to heat up. "I... I don't ...I..." he stammered, unsuccessfully attempting to form a sentence that wouldn't make him look stupid, but nothing came to mind.
Suddenly Naricssa Malfoy appeared, her blue eyes glittering with excitement and her cheeks slightly flushed. "Is it true? Are you and Luna engaged, Draco? Why didn't you tell me? Why am I the last to know?"
"What?" Draco blinked madly, his mouth opening and closing with horror. "How do you know? No, I'm not, it's a mistake." He explained, the muscle in his jaw twitching alarmingly.
Narcissa's forehead creased into a frown. "A mistake? How can there be a mistake? You're either engaged or your not."
"Well I'm not." Draco almost snapped. "Father made a mist....um... he made an assumption that was incorrect." He floundered awkwardly. The last thing he wanted was to say his father was wrong; Lucius Malfoy was never wrong.
"No I didn't." Lucius informed his son defensively. "I was trying to help you, in future I won't bother if you're going to get this hysterical over things. Malfoy's are not prone to hysterics, Draco, please try to control yourself."
"Hysterics? I'm not having hysterics." Draco replied, a little put out at this insinuation. "But I do have every right to be upset when you go around telling people I'm engaged when I'm not."
"Lucius?" Narcissa placed her hands on her hips and glared at her husband. "What have you done now? I don't see how this is helping anyone."
Lucius rolled his eyes. "Well of course you don't, neither of you ever see anything unless it's written in ten foot letters and shoved right under your nose. Draco is in love with Luna, Luna doesn't know, Draco isn't telling her and I'm getting annoyed with all the games."
Narcissa huffed, "I knew that, Lucius, it's obvious."
Draco's face burnt even more, "it is?"
"Of course it is. Do you think I'm blind? I can see very clearly how you feel about Luna, why you haven't said anything is beyond me," Narcissa clicked her tongue irritably.
"Now you can do something about it, I've helped you now haven't I?" Lucius said smugly.
Draco's jaw popped open, "and you couldn't have just pulled me aside to lecture me?" He had never felt so helpless in his entire life.
"Telling me Luna was your girlfriend didn't make it real did it? But you still did it." Lucius pointed out. "If you care enough to lie, and she's willing to go along with you for this long there's nothing to say she won't go along with you now either."
Draco dragged a hand through his hair, "yes but...." he paused to allow that thought to sink in. Suppose, just suppose his father was right and Luna was willing to agree to it?
"No! I won't allow it," Narcissa interrupted forcefully. "Let's be realistic about this, we can easily say a mistake has been made and clear everything up without any embarrassment and before everyone here finds out about it. Draco, the best thing to do is to tell the truth, just tell Luna the truth the way you should have at the very beginning."
Lucius smirked victoriously. "It doesn't seem like you have much of a choice really does it, Draco? The truth is the only way out of this."
Draco raised his eyes to his father's face a shocked look of recognition crossed his face. "You did this on purpose,"
"Of course I did, if I thought just telling you what to do would have worked then I would have done it, but you're too much of a fool to take good advice, so I had to take drastic measures." He admitted, smoothing a wrinkle out of his robes as though it were the most important thing to be doing.
Narcissa sighed heavily, she squeezed Draco's arm. "Good luck, Draco. We are going to have such a talk when we get home," she warned Lucius, exasperation written all over her face.
"Take her home, Draco you'll feel better on familiar ground," Lucius advised. "Come along, Narcissa,"
Taking a steadying breath Draco turned and headed back to Luna new determination flowing through him. He was going to be the Draco Malfoy he usually was, he was going to take control and get what he wanted. "I'm going to take you back to Malfoy Manor," he said, taking hold of the top of her arm and guiding her into the house.
Within minutes he had located the fireplace that would transport them back to Malfoy Manor and he practically dragged Luna along with him through the dim corridors of the Manor to his bedroom, his eyes fixed firmly ahead of him and his jaw set like granite.
Luna huffed with annoyance but chose not to argue with him. She didn't want to fight with Draco, it wasn't his fault that his father was like he was, although it was his fault that she was in the situation that she was in. He had dragged her into his games and he had been the one to push things so actually, she was fully able to place the blame with him that his father had come up with something so tremendous. But she had to admit she was quite intrigued to see how he was going to get them out of this.
She examined his face through her lashes, his usual pale complexion had a hint of colour to it, his breathing was coming out rather fast and his eyes glittered in that way he had when she knew he was scheming something.
Luna cried out in surprise when Draco ferociously kicked his bedroom door open, stormed through it and kicked it shut again. A tiny dart of fright leapt in her stomach.
Draco deposited Luna on the bed running his hands through his hair with agitation. He could cheerfully kill his father for this mess he had landed him in. He had been going to tell Luna the truth at the end of the two weeks, he had wanted to plan it all out so that he could explain everything to her without looking like either the bad guy or a pathetic idiot. Now thanks to his father interfering he didn't have that option any more. Now he was going to have to take his chances with no plan; just the truth and hope for the best.
He spun round to look at her face, to try to figure out what she was thinking or feeling, but all he could focus on was how perfect she looked; how blue her eyes were that were staring up at him tinged with worry and how soft and silky her hair looked.
He blinked and shook his head slightly to try to rid himself of his thoughts, to try to focus on her and what he had to do.
Luna sat where she was curling her knees up to her chest and hugging herself into a ball as she watched him warily. He didn't look annoyed, he looked frightened, she would much prefer him to look anything other than frightened. She figured the best thing for her to do was keep quiet until he spoke, she could decide what she was going to do after he had spoken.
But Draco didn't seem to want to speak to her, he was too busy staring at her with a weird look in his eyes. Luna couldn't decipher exactly what it was, she hadn't ever had someone looking at her like that before. After what seemed like hours Luna decided to speak. "Draco? Are you ok? You're looking at me with that strange look again."
Draco sighed heavily, "There's something that I have to tell you and I'm not sure how to go about it," he admitted slowly.
Luna's eyes narrowed to slits. "Don't you dare think of trying to worm around me on this one, Draco. There's no way I'm going to pretend to be engaged to you."
Draco scowled, "Is the idea of being anything other than my friend so disgusting to you?" He demanded before he could stop himself.
Luna stared up at him in surprise, a flicker of hurt crossed her face that he would even think such things. "No of course not, that's not what I meant. I just think it's going over the line, it's not something you can get back from. I think you need to tell the truth now, Draco."
Draco nodded his agreement. "That's what I'm trying to do, but you have to promise not to interrupt." He gave her a suspicious look as she nodded her agreement a frown on her face. "The day my father asked me who my girlfriend was and I said you, well, I lied. I didn't see The Quibbler and think of you. I just think about you anyway, all the time, I can't stop thinking about you and its driving me crazy."
Luna just stared stupidly at him, she couldn't take on board what he was getting at, she must be misunderstanding him.
His eyes searched her face but he saw nothing other than confusion. She didn't attempt to answer him or interrupt him in anyway; but just sat there looking at him with wide quizzical eyes. Sighing irritably he shoved his hair out of his eyes, "Luna, I had feelings for you before you came here and they've been spiralling out of control ever since."
Luna blinked uncertainly. "What?"
"I want this relationship to work." He told her quietly.
It was only then that Luna was able to decipher the strange look in his eyes. The same strange look he had given her earlier that day before the mirror. She had spotted it a couple of times over the last week although she had just shrugged it off. It was the look of hunger and barely concealed emotions that she hadn't registered.
She breathed deeply unfolding herself from her ball position and slowly raising to her feet. "Why didn't you tell me before?"
"I thought you might leave, and I wanted you to stay. Not because of my father," he added hastily. "But because of you, because of how I feel about you, I wanted you around me." He admitted, suddenly acutely aware of his colour rising.
Luna bit her lip and shook her head, "I mean before, why didn't you ever say anything?"
"How could I? Your friends with Potter, I'm a Slytherin and it's safe to say I don't get on with Potter. I think we both know he'd have done anything to keep me away from you if I had told you how I was really feeling." Draco pointed out rubbing his forehead with a rather sweaty palm. He had never been so nervous in his life, his stomach was doing flips and a strong sense of nausea swept over him that Luna could walk away.
"I can make my own decisions, Draco." She snapped irritably.
"I know that. I should have said something before and I didn't, but I'm telling you now." He told her, desperation flooding his voice.
She could have been mad that he hadn't told her the entire truth from the start; but she could see now why he hadn't, he was a mass of jumping nerves. She hadn't thought to see Draco Malfoy looking so nervous.
Luna moved so quickly that Draco didn't register what was happening until he felt her pressed close to his chest and her arms sliding up his back. Instinctively his arms encircled her shoulders pressing her close to him, breathing in the familiar scent of her shampoo and perfume.
"You should have told me when we started this whole lie with your father." Luna reproached him, tapping her finger into his back.
"I know. But I couldn't face it." Draco replied, absently twirling a lose curl round his finger. Her hair was just as soft to touch as it looked; and he couldn't quite believe that he had Luna pressed close to his body and was touching her hair.
She tilted her head back to look into his face, her cheeks flushing a little as she pushed his hair from his forehead. "Draco?"
"Hum?" It was the only response he felt able to give without making himself look like a jibbering twit.
Pursing her lips at him she wondered, "If I asked you for something would you let me have it?"
"More than likely." He admitted.
Luna's face broke out into a smile, "That's good. I'd like you to kiss me please, Draco."
"What?" He was sure he must have heard her wrong, he must be imagining things that he had wanted to hear for so long.
"Well, if you have feelings for me and I have feelings for you, I figure we should do something about it."
"You have....since when?" He demanded frowning.
Luna shrugged, "Since a while ago," she admitted trying unsuccessfully to avoid his eyes.
"So last night, when you fell asleep on the sofa, you were dreaming about me in a good way?" Draco couldn't stop the smirk appearing on his lips at the mortified look on her face.
"I was talking in my sleep?" She moaned into his chest. "I don't believe it."
Laughing easily he cupped her face tilting it back up so he could look at her. "It sounded like a good dream." He laughed harder as her colour deepened, biting her bottom lip she glared up at him. Suddenly his face turned serious and soft, "I hope I live up to expectations."
"You will." She whispered, her eyes fluttering shut as his face came closer to hers.
When his lips touched hers she was surprised that he was so hesitant, almost as if he was afraid of her reaction or afraid he would hurt her. She however was more than happy to show him her reaction, her arms tightened around his waist and her lips pressed harder against his.
Growling deep in his throat Draco pulled her into his shoulder where he could hold her closer, his mouth on hers was hot and hungry, he had been waiting so long to kiss her he vaguely wondered if he would ever stop. The moan that escaped her when he slid his tongue between her parted lips spurred him on to deepen his kiss and her nails dug into his shoulder blades as she kissed him back with equal ferocity.
It felt as thought they had been fused together for eternity until Luna finally broke away from him to take a deep lungful of air. "You oughtn't to hold me that tight and kiss me like that Draco, I might faint," she gasped, gazing up at him with glistening eyes.
Draco smirked down at her. "I'd still be here when you woke up. Ready to make you faint again." Untangling his arms from around her he slowly let his fingers dig about in her mass of curls to let her hair fall loose and free over her shoulders. "I like it better when it's loose."
She snuggled herself closer into the crook of his arm. "What about your father? What about the engagement thing?"
"Well, he did it on purpose, he knew how I really felt and wanted to push me into telling you," he admitted. "I think he also thought it sort of killed two birds with one stone,"
Luna ran her fingers through his hair as he settled them down on the sofa. "What do you mean? Two birds with one stone?" She asked suspiciously.
Draco smiled tracing her collar bone with his finger, "I guess he thought that this way I wouldn't only tell you the truth but we'd also be engaged, something I wouldn't have to worry about at a later date if things all worked out. Apparently I need to be pushed into doing things,"
"So he's not going to say it's a mistake?" She asked, studying him carefully. "I heard a few whispers when we were leaving, someone must have overheard him talking to us."
"I don't know what he's going to do, I suppose it all depended on what you said," Draco was suddenly extremely uncomfortable, he didn't want to have this conversation with her now. Although the idea of being engaged to Luna wasn't something that bothered him at all, he didn't want to acknowledge that it might bother her though.
She shrugged, "I suppose we can deal with any change of circumstances if and when we have to, let's not complicate matters,"
Draco blinked in surprise. "How can you be agreeing to this?" He asked in disbelief.
Luna pouted a little, "I suspect that there are forces at work in the universe that we cannot control, and if those forces choose to give me you, why should I argue with them?"
"Er...exactly," Draco agreed uncertainly.
She sighed softly. "Now will you stop talking and kiss me again?"
Draco grinned, "Anytime, Luna." He replied, before taking her lips in another searing kiss.
He'd gone through nerve shattering days and sleepless nights to get Luna and she was worth every second of it. He'd deal with Saint Potter and the rest of her interfering friends when he had to. It would be humiliating having to admit to his father that he had been right, but all in all he couldn't really complain; his father had once again given him everything that he wanted.
But he didn't need to think about his father now; he couldn't think about it now, all he was aware of was Luna. Every little thing about her, to the softness of her hair, the smoothness of her skin, the way she felt pressed against him, the tantalizing scent of her perfume and the hot, delightful kisses she gave him that caused thrilling tingles to run through his body.
Draco decided that he was definitely keeping Luna as long as she would allow him to do so.