You're Just As Sane As I Am [ Draco x Luna ]

[Mysty]

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The last thing Draco needed, at this moment, was to suffer through detention. He thought he did a decent job playing teacher's pet, but apparently all it took was a few too many snide remarks to Potter and his mud-blood friend, and now Draco was facing time for his crimes. Ironic; considering this shouldn't be the crime he should be paying time for. The thought almost brought a miserable smirk to his face, but he bit the inside of his cheek instead, grey-blue eyes lazily scanning over the titles of books. His mind, elsewhere, so far elsewhere that he had to read the same title about three times over before the words stuck and he realized what he was supposed to be doing. Draco looked up momentarily, as if to see if anyone else had noticed him entirely zone out, before he floated the book over to it's arranged pile to be dealt with later.

Draco couldn't help but look up once more, to see if someone else had faced the same sentence as he. He was behind the bookshelves, and from where he stood, all he could see was a third year Hufflepuff drop a book on her foot. The blond averted his eyes to pretend he hadn't seen, just picking up another book, dusting off the cover with a grimace because gross, dust, and then quite literally tossing it into another pile. Draco had always considered himself an organized person, and cleaning never really bothered him, but this was just tedious. It was with another one of the Slytherin's infamous scowls that he realized McGonagall had also mentioned some books on charms that needed to be filed, and with his mind wandering and his expression unguarded and troubled, Draco began to retrieve the books; before promptly bumping into something, or rather, someone.

The noise he made was only slightly undignified, eyes training to see who the unlucky soul had been. Messy hair, doe blue eyes, Draco frowned. Luna Lovegood; he'd never come to known the girl personally, but he'd heard the rumors. That she talked to herself, that she was messed up in the head, Draco just stepped around her with brows furrowed. If anything, he was more confused with himself for not noticing her to begin with, but that didn't stop him from falling into his arrogant little act. "What are you doing this far into the library, Lunie? Hunting thestrals again?" He sneered, although the corner of his mouth trembled as if such a mean expression caused him a tremendous effort.​

 

[lxngdon]

l u n a

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​

Luna didn't quite understand why she was in detention. In her own opinion she had not done anything wrong; all she had done was propose to Professor Snape that instead of using lilyflower roots in their Sleeping Potions, they could use Nargle eggs. Professor Snape had called her an insufferable daydreamer and given her a detention for distracting the class with irrelevant comments. Luna decided to keep her opinion on Nargle eggs to herself for the rest of the lesson.

She didn't really mind filing books. Luna liked to surround herself with knowledge; she was always looking to expand her knowledge on a variety of topics and she usually applied her own beliefs and theories to this knowledge. A lot of people thought she was weird. Xenophlius argued she was enlightened.

Luna was walking backwards, looking for the shelf a book on Grindylows belonged in, when she bumped into a tall blond boy she recognised as the Slytherin, Draco Malfoy. Luna had heard nasty things about Draco and she knew he was quite mean to Harry and his friends, but Luna was not the one to judge people. Maybe he had a problem going on at home? Luna decided to keep an open mind about everyone, including supposedly evil Slytherins.

"Oh, hello, Draco," she said in her dreamy voice. Luna cocked her head to the side when Draco spoke. "Thestrals?" she repeated blankly. "Why would I be in here hunting Thestrals? They're in the stables, waiting for the end of the year to take everyone back in carriages." Luna put the book on the shelf. "No, unfortunately Professor Snape put me in detention for asking what he considered a silly question. I think he doesn't like it when people disagree with him."​

 

[Mysty]

To say that Draco wasn't caught off guard by her response would be a lie. He was expecting a snarky comment, some form retaliation, but she had answered his question as if it was genuine. The boy blinked for a moment, trying to process her strange response, his sneer falling for just a moment, before he rolled his eyes, clutching the books he had been carrying close to his chest.

"You're just as strange as they say you are, Lovegood." Draco huffed, sliding past Luna in favor of putting the books on the shelves. As he reached up, the blond huffed, sliding one of the books in place and then moving to clean off his now dusty uniform. Part of him wanted to just ignore the strange girl and continue on with his punishment. Part of him also enjoyed not dying of absolute boredom.

"So, what was the silly question, hm?" He asked, appearing to be more interested in what he was doing, although he did spare the girl a glance as he finished his sentence; a small sign that said 'I may be an ass but I'm genuinely curious.' He was sure it was something completely ridiculous, yet at the same time, he didn't doubt that Snape would crack down on any who opposed his teaching.

 

[lxngdon]

"I suggested that we could use Nargle eggs instead of lilyflower roots in Sleeping Draughts," Luna told Draco in a matter-of-fact tone. She spoke with the air of someone who knew exactly what they were talking about, and, in a way, Luna did. She knew a lot about Nargles, even if that knowledge was not one hundred percent proven. Or proven at all.

Luna picked up another stack of books and began to sort through them. "Nargle eggs have wonderful powers, you know," she said to Draco, nodding to herself as if she was affirming her own beliefs. "They have six times the potency of lilyflower roots, but the only thing stopping us from acquiring them is the scarcity of Nargle nests. And, we don't want to deplete the population already more than we have by deforesting Scotland."

Luna looked up and her eyes snapped to Draco's hair. She dropped the book she was holding, ran around the table and stopped him, reaching up and picking a leaf out of his blond locks. "You had Herbology today," she said, staring at the leaf with her huge blue-gray eyes.​

 

[Mysty]

Draco couldn't place it, but it was almost refreshing, to talk to her. Everything else, it was always about the war, about death and destruction and prophecies, but with her? It was simple. Nargle eggs. The wizarding world was falling apart at the seams around them, and she chose to talk about Nargle eggs. It felt strange that he was able to find peace in detention, listening to 'Lunie' Lovegood talk about fictional creatures. Draco was only able to look at her dumbly, unsure how to respond, other than with a simple, "Huh."

He couldn't help but snort at her comment. Nobody was around but them, the Hufflepuff girl had vanished, and he was so unbearably bored; he could entertain her thoughts on Nargle eggs. "No, I did not know that." Draco replied, his tone somewhat flat with the exception of the smallest twinge of amusement. "I also didn't know Nargles were endangered creatures--" He had started to say, only to jump a little when the Ravenclaw had dropped her book in favor of walking around the table. His initial instinct had been to lean away from her reach as pale fingers reached up into paler hair, his eyes going wide for a moment. "What're you," He had started to say, bristling like a cornered animal, before he blinked owlishly.

How she had noticed that, when he hadn't, was beyond him. He instinctively ran a hand through his hair, expecting more leaves to spring out of nowhere. "I suppose I did," He said dumbly, before clearing his throat. "Give me a warning before you trot around the table and touch my hair without permission, Lovegood." Draco tried to snap, but it lacked any real hostility behind it.

 

[lxngdon]

Luna stepped back and nodded. "Sorry," she said quietly. She could never tell when something she did was going to annoy or discomfort someone. The people at school called her socially inept, but Luna saw the bigger picture. No one could handle her forwardness. But that didn't stop her from feeling guilty.

She tucked the leaf behind her ear like a pencil and went back to work, filing the books she didn't read on topics she didn't understand. Luna sometimes hated Hogwarts simply for their intolerance of other people's ideas. Wizards were a very one-track minded race, in her own opinion.

"You have lovely hair, you know," Luna told Draco without looking at him. She said this in a very matter-of-fact tone, like she was stating something definite and it could never be debated, no matter how mad you were. "It's very soft, like an owl's down ... and so white, like the snow ..."​

 

[Mysty]

Draco was a Death Eater, for Merlin's sake. Why was he feeling guilty for earning such a quiet response when she had been the one to touch his hair? It was especially exhausting being a snob, you know. Sometimes, you didn't have the energy for it, to be mean, to be so hostile. Draco wasn't one to like people touching him, but Luna hadn't particularly bothered him. It was just them two, alone, and it was for the first time in awhile, that Draco realized he didn't care enough to act like he was laced with venom.

The Slytherin's shoulders relaxed, and he let out a soft sigh. "It's okay, I suppose it's more me than you." He commented, reading the cover of a book lazily, one that looked like Granger would read, before he filed it and set it in a pre-made pile. If anything, Draco was living proof that wizards were very one track minded, at first glance. Sometimes, people change. If given the chance.

What he hadn't expected, even from Luna, was a compliment. The boy had nearly dropped the book he was holding, red so easily escaping his front and spilling onto his pale complexion. His fingers curled around the spine of the leather back as he looked up with an expression that was so easily placed as utter shock, before the boy composed himself, managing a small smirk. "Really? Potter tells me it makes me look like a ferret." He mused, but the smirk started to fade into a smile, a genuine smile, one that looked so foreign on his features. "I'm not very good at compliments, but for what it's worth, you have very pretty eyes." Draco said, his voice a murmur in comparison to his usual sneers.

 

[lxngdon]

Luna's head cocked to the side in confusion. "You look nothing like a ferret," she stated. Then, her eyes widened when he returned the compliment.

No one ever really complimented Luna before. Sure, her dad told her she was beautiful quite frequently but he didn't count, he was her dad. To hear a compliment from anyone else was quite a shock to the blonde, and not even just because it was from the infamous Draco Malfoy, but because no one ever said anything nice to her.

"Thank you, Draco," she said in a shocked whisper. She stood, frozen for a minute, before snapping out of her hypnotic trance like nothing had ever happened. "That means a lot. You look like you have quite a few Wrackspurts, you know," she continued conversationally, as though the entire compliment exchange had never happened. "They make your brain go quite fuzzy. Do you ever feel like your brain is fuzzy? Some people say my brain is a crackpot but I don't know what that means."​

 

[Mysty]

Draco shrugged at her response, as if he hadn't really believed her. It was hard to live down the fact that you were changed into a ferret in front of half the student body. Granted, he had deserved it, being quite the twat; but that still didn't make him look back on the memory with fondness. Perhaps one day he could look back on the memory and laugh, but he couldn't look at another ferret again.

He had glanced up at her shocked whisper; a little surprised himself. He, of all people, managed to surprise Luna Lovegood? The girl rambled out make believe creatures like it had been her day job, but a compliment had been a shock to her. Surely, a compliment thrown his way had made him nearly drop his book, but he still felt the smallest pang of empathy. Luna, truly was, a beautifully interesting girl. It was a shame she wasn't told so more often - that barrier had to be broken by Draco Malfoy, of all people.

"You're welcome, Lovegood." He responded by instinct, the manner engraved in him as he gave a little nod. He had begun to reach for another book when she had spoke again, as if their awkward moment of kindness hadn't happened, and Draco had found himself quite amused. Luna was proving to be a great conversational partner, even if her topics were odd. Far more intelligent than Crabbe and Goyle, far more nice than Pansy, and far less sarcastic than Blaise, he realized he was, dare he say, enjoying her company.

It was with an owlish blink that he had been so lost in his own train of thought that he hadn't answered her, most likely further proving Luna's hypothesis about Wrackspurts. "I suppose my brain does go fuzzy at times," Draco mused, finally grabbing the book as he spoke, "but I know nothing of Wrackspurts. I doubt my lack of concentration has to do with animals living in my head." He mused, but grimly added within his own train of thought, that it was no animal deterring his concentration. More like people, but that was besides the point.

At her crackpot comment, he couldn't help but snicker, trying to bite his cheek to conceal a grin. "It means your head is full of too many ideas, Lovegood. Some of them a tad.. Out there." He commented, but then added without meaning to, "but I don't suppose that's a bad thing."

 

[lxngdon]

Luna smiled. It was a wide, genuine smile, one of true happiness. Well, all of Luna's smiles were genuine. She was a genuine person, and she was made fun of for it.

"You know, you're not nearly as mean as people would have me believe," Luna mused. She had finished filing the stack of books and was now helping Draco put away his. She didn't need to mention who exactly had told Luna that Draco wasn't a nice person. It was a common conception around Hogwarts.

"In fact," said Luna with a grin, pausing to poke Draco's chest, "I dare say that under all of that snootiness, you're actually just a big teddy bear."

Luna checked the clock on the wall to find it was now five p.m. and that their detention was over. "We have an hour till dinner. Do you want to go look for gray Milzy flowers beside the lake with me?"

 

[Mysty]

Meanwhile, Draco was the opposite. He was what you called a fake, molded into what was expected of him by his father, what was expected of him as a Malfoy. If the world was only going to see you as a snobby, evil Slytherin, why bother being anything else? Of course, his upturned nose and his constant sneer was not of any help, but if he had to be the antagonist, then so be it.

At her comment, the blond arched an eyebrow. "I wouldn't get too caught up in that fantasy, just because I'm letting you talk to me about your creatures does not mean I'm suddenly a charity case. Don't look into me too much." He mused, filing the last of his books, blinking owlishly as Luna poked a finger against his slender chest. His eyes met hers for a moment, a cloudy sky against a calming water, before he shook away the moment of awkwardness. "Yes, I suppose flower hunting is more pleasant than studying in the dungeons." Draco added, dusting his uniform off despite there being nothing on it.

He was sure some heads would turn at the sight. Draco Malfoy, infamous snobby Slytherin, walking side by side with 'Lunie Lovegood'? Had the world ended? Well, maybe, but that was beside the point.

 

[lxngdon]

Luna absolutely beamed when Draco accepted her invitation to lok for Milzys. Her joy completely overrode her previous disappointment at his prior mean comment. She bounded forward, hugged him tightly and smiled into his chest.

"Yay!" she said happily before pulling back and bouncing on her feet. "They're in the sand on the Black Lake. They're gray and little and look like daisies but they're toxic so don't eat them. Come on!"

She grabbed his hand and skipped through the castle, humming to herself as she pulled Draco along. People were watching them, but Luna had never cared of what people thought of her. Soon, they were on the sand of the Lake and Luna was half-bent over as she searched for the elusive flowers. She was still holding Draco's hand.​

 

[Mysty]

Draco always had a thing about people touching him, and the excessive amount of physical contact was slowly becoming acceptable to him. Perhaps it was because of Luna, because she had called his hair pretty, because she had said he wasn't as mean and nasty as everyone made him out to be. Maybe it was because Luna didn't judge.

"Why on Earth would I eat them--" The boy had started to say, only to let out a surprised little yelp when she yanked him along. When people stared, he could feel his cheeks and neck heat up, but he didn't pull his hand away, not even when some of his fellow Slytherins pointed and whispered. He'd be racked with questions at dinner tonight.

As she dragged him out to the sand, he scanned for the small, grey, daisy-like flowers, still amused by Luna's warning against eating them. "Are they safe to pick?" He asked, dragging his foot lazily across the sand.

 

[lxngdon]

Luna sat down, cross-legged, on the sand and began carefully searching with her fingers. She dragged Draco down to sit beside her, smiling at him as she located a Milzy.

She held it up to him. Milzies, unlike most other things Luna believed in, actually existed. They were just incredibly unexceptional. "You can pick them," she replied, tucking one behind his ear like a pencil and petting his head. "I like to make crowns out of them. They don't really do anything. I just think they're pretty."

She settled back into her spot and soon located six more flowers. She piled them on her skirt.

"Are you still the Slytherin Seeker?" Luna asked Draco dreamily. "I don't go to games much. I like the quiet of the castle."​

 

[Mysty]

Draco smiled, genuinely smiled, when Luna tucked the flower behind his ear. The gesture was so small, but it made him feel so human, Luna honestly didn't judge. It made him glad, for once, to not feel the burden of his father's expectations and the Dark Lord's intentions. If only for a moment, the fog has lifted, and it had revealed a sandy beach, grey flowers, and a certain Ravenclaw.

"Do flowers ever really have a purpose, besides looking pretty?" Draco asked with an absent minded tone, nimble fingers running through the sand until he had found a Milzy. He did the same as Luna, setting the delicate flower on his lap, moving to look for more. It wasn't long before he had begun to create his own pile. "Laugh if you will, but I used to make them when I was younger. My mother would try to keep me away from the garden, but I ended up picking all the roses anyways. After I gave her the poorly made thing, though, she seemed to not care as much." He murmured, looking through the sand as if to avoid eye contact.

"Hm? No, unfortunately not. I don't particularly have the time, or effort, anymore." He said, and then finally glanced up at her. "Didn't you wear a giant prop lion head to cheer on the Gryffindor team one year?" He chuckled, before holding up one of the flowers. Draco clicked his tongue, glancing back and fourth between Luna and the flower for a moment. "It's no wonder you like these flowers, they match your eyes."

 

[lxngdon]

"Oh, yes, I did wear that lion head," said Luna in her usual dreamy voice. She had now collected over thirty Milzies, enough to make a crown, so she shed her robe, laid it out on the sand beside her and then put them on it.

"It's a shame you don't play Quidditch anymore," said Luna softly. "You were really good."

Luna didn't care about Quidditch that much but she had watched a few games and she knew Draco had been talented. She laid down, resting her head on Draco's thigh like a pillow. Luna picked up a few Milzies, rested them on her flat stomach and split the stems with her fingernail, making a crown.

"Why'd you quit?"​

 

[Mysty]

The girl really didn't have a concept of personal space. And what alarmed Draco, was that he didn't care. He watched as Luna used her nails to create a crown, the peaceful back drop of the lake putting him at ease.

He had taken to literally plopping the milzies into Luna's hair, as if that was some sort of extremely entertaining task, when in reality it just kept Draco's mind occupied.

'Why'd you quit?'

He paused for a moment. He hadn't really been expecting Luna to ask that, after all, she seemed more preoccupied with her flower crown. Draco regained his composure quickly, however, and responded calmly. "I didn't really have the time, I wanted to focus more on my studies."

 

[lxngdon]

"I see." Luna didn't see, but she didn't feel it was necessary to say that. If you liked something and you were passionate about it, you should pursue it, right? That was the philosophy Luna had lived by for all of her fifteen years, and she liked to think she was in a relatively good position now. Sure, everyone thought she was insane, but she was fine with it, in all honesty.

Finished with her flower crown, Luna sat up, turned around to face Draco and set it in his snowy white hair. She had his flowers in her dirty-blonde locks, so she didn't need any more. She adjusted it so it sat straight on his head, before smiling and laying back down, her head on his thigh.​