L'amour Detruit *COMPLETE*

Draco’s mood worsened later on that evening during Quidditch practice. Naturally it was still pouring, but he couldn’t postpone another practice. The game was fast approaching and Slytherin needed to beat Hufflepuff in order to be able to win the House Cup.

Draco’s temper was utterly foul now. He had spent the entire day angry at Luna and Professor Trelawney, and as soon as practice was over he would send a letter to his father and get that wretched woman sacked. Draco already had plenty of stress to deal with; the Ball, Quidditch, homework…And the dismal weather simply would not cease, further worsening his spirit.

And so he flew through the damp, muddy, Quidditch fields searching for the bloody snitch in the rain. He found his mind drift back to Luna, who was warm and dry inside the castle. What right did she have to humiliate him in class? It was outrageous. There was no reason for her to receive better marks than him in such a ridiculous, absurd class. And now he was in danger of failing only because he couldn’t decipher his future by examining pig livers. It was fucking ridiculous. Luna couldn’t possibly understand his stress. She had no social life to be worried about.

Lost in his reveries, Draco found himself collide into the Slytherin chaser. He suddenly lost his grip on his broom, and both came crashing down onto the bleachers. Draco landed with a thud on the soaking bench, his arm twisted and his body burning. His platinum blonde hair was completely drenched, and his Quidditch robes were now covered in mud. He felt Warrington, the chaser he had banged into, get up furiously. “What the fuck is wrong with you?” He shouted. “Watch where you’re flying!”

He dusted the mud off his robes as the others approached to see what had happened. Draco forced himself off the ground.

“What happened?” Pansy exclaimed. “Are you okay, Draco?”

Draco face was flushed. “Practice is over,” he said hotly, as he stormed away.

Much to his irritation, Pansy ran after him. “Are you sure you’re okay? Should I take you to Madam Pomfrey?”

Draco turned around and faced her angrily. “I’m fine, leave me alone you fucking slut!”

Pansy stopped. “You’re an asshole,” she snapped, looking extremely wounded.

Draco suddenly felt bad for calling her a slut, however Pansy turned away quietly. His clothes drenched and filthy, Draco stood there for a moment shivering. Should he run after her?

No. She deserved it for constantly being in his way. Draco stormed into his dormitory, shedding his muddy robes and climbing into a hot bath.

*

Draco soon found his anger dissipate, draining into the pipes with his hot bath water. He was calmer now. The bath was what he needed to relax, and get his mind off things. He searched for Pansy to apologize, but Blaise Zabini informed him that she was refusing to speak to him.

Frustrated, Draco crashed into the sofa in the Slytherin common room. Great, he thought. He had fucked everything up again.

Zabini watched him carefully. “You look stressed,” he said.

Draco nodded. His mind was still elsewhere. Slytherin would loose the match, he was sure, and it would be his entire fault. There was absolutely no time for Quidditch; he had to pass his lessons, prepare for the ball, and choose a career… Draco buried his wet, golden hair into his hands and sighed.

“You look like you could use some fire whiskey,” Zabini replied, “a bunch of us are going out by the lake to get a few drinks. You should come.”

Why not? It would certainly get Draco’s mind off things. He agreed, following Blaise out of the common room.

Outside, a gang of Slytherin boys were gathered around the lake. It had stopped raining, but it was still chilly and damp. The black sky enveloped the scene. Malfoy could see them passing around a liquor bottle. As the two figures approached the group, Draco noticed a couple of them panic and attempt to conceal the bottle. They then, realizing it was him and Blaise, greeted the two boys with wide grins and light punches.

Crabbe passed him the whiskey bottle, which Draco noticed was nearly empty. He took a deep chug anyway, the bitter liquid burning his throat as he swallowed. After a few more chugs he forgot about his troubles entirely. A wave of light-headedness passed through him and he suddenly felt very calm. It was a nice feeling. He wasn’t drunk, but the buzz from the fire whiskey would entertain him for now.

For quite awhile the gang of Slytherins loitered around the damp school grounds, busy in their conversations. Somehow, Draco found his mind drift back to Luna. He wasn’t sure why. But he needed to teach her a lesson. He mentioned this to Blaise, who happened to find an interest in this.

“Well then,” he said slyly, “let’s go find her.”

The others seemed to agree with the idea. “Let’s jinx her,” Goyle snickered.

And so they ventured back into the castle; a few of them were stumbling in their steps, but Draco was fully conscious now. She would pay for embarrassing him. That was for sure. The Slytherins wandered around the Ravenclaw Tower, looking for Luna. “She’s probably in her dormitory,” Blaise said. “Does anyone know the password?”

While the boys brainstormed ways to get inside the dorms, Draco noticed something at the corner of his eye. Across the hall, an odd-looking keychain hung from the Ravenclaw bathroom door. It looked as if it was made of macaroni. Draco grinned and quietly pointed this out to Blaise.

The Slytherins silently walked over to the door. “That nut left her keys in the lock!” Malfoy sneered. He turned the key, and the gang quietly entered the room.

Luna was in the showers, Draco could tell, as her robes and knickers lay strewn across the changing benches. “Let’s jinx her in the showers,” Crabbe suggested. The others snickered.

“No,” Draco said, an idea occurring to him. “Let’s hide her robes!”

The Slytherins snickered, grabbing Luna’s garments and quietly tip-toeing out of the bathroom.

“Where should we hide them?” said Warrington.

“Let’s throw them in the lake,” Draco replied, smirking.

The boys snickered again as they dashed back towards the lake. The lake looked stunningly clear in the damp moonlight. It was still chilly, however, and Draco shivered as he followed his peers. They stopped in front of the lake. Draco lit up his wand and then tossed Luna’s horrendously colored robes into the water. Then her undergarments were thrown in. The Slytherins watched the clothes float out of their sight until heading back into the castle.

It was Blaise’s idea to return to the Ravenclaw Tower to watch Luna’s reaction. The others continued laughing at their deeds during the way. When they had reached the Ravenclaw bathroom, they waited for the unfortunate girl in the changing rooms where she had left her clothes.

They didn’t have to wait long; soon her footsteps were heard, accompanied by a piercing shriek as Luna caught a glimpse of the group of Slytherins. “What are you doing here? Where are my clothes?!” She cried.

The Slytherins burst into laughter at the humiliated girl. Luna was clutching her towel tightly in attempt to conceal her tiny figure. Draco howled with laughter. That’ll teach her not to mess with a Malfoy, he thought.

Luna didn’t waste a moment racing to the door, still clutching her towel. Still laughing, the Slytherins followed her out of the bathroom. “Accio towel!” Blaise yelled, pointing his wand. Unfortunately Luna sped out of the way, and Blaise’s spell bounced off the wall.

Draco waited for her at the end of the hallway. Sure enough, as soon as Luna turned into the corner, Draco grabbed her around the waist with his wand raised. Luna screamed. “No point in running now,” he smirked.

The rest of the gang realized that the chase was over and approached the couple. What would Malfoy do now?

Draco smiled as he peered down at the helpless girl, who had decided to quit struggling. She was trembling now, and Draco couldn’t help but notice how lovely she looked when she was scared. He roughly pressed her against his body, which she answered with a gasp.

Suddenly, they heard footsteps. The gang turned to look and it only took Crabbe to exclaim “shit, prefects!” before they all sprinted out of the tower.

Draco, however, remained with Luna in his rugged grip. The prefects appeared to have turned the other way, as the two were the only ones left in the hallway. Glaring at her pale face, he stood with his wand still fixed upon her. As soon as he found the proper spell to curse her with, Luna did something extraordinary which stopped him in his tracks.

She began to cry.

Draco was suddenly overwhelmed. He had never imagined Luna would cry. She always seemed over-confident and strong. His revenge would have been sweet, to punish Luna and smirk at her proud little face, but Draco would never have expected her to act so humbly. Ashamed, he let her go.

“Don’t cry,” he mumbled. But the tears continued dripping down her innocent face.

“We threw your clothes in the lake. You can get them later. Just stop crying, please,” he found himself plead.

“I-I left my wand in my robes,” Luna choked through her sobs.

Draco sighed. “I’ll help you fish them out,” he said regretfully.

And so Draco walked out again into the chilly evening, this time with Luna trailing behind him. Draco suddenly felt disgusted at what he had done. Yes, Luna had wounded his pride in Divination class, but she didn’t deserve this humiliation. Behind him he could hear Luna shivering, which made him feel even worse. She looked so frail clutching her towel that Draco didn’t have the heart to even look at her.

At last they reached the lake. “Um, I’ll go fetch your robes,” he said, still avoiding looking at her. “You stay here.”

Draco wandered away, looking for Luna’s clothes. He spotted them in the distance, and with his wand he brought them towards him. He bent down to the moist ground, and carefully fished out the girl’s soiled robes out of the lake. Twisting them to rid the excess water, he handed the garments over to Luna.

Luna wiped away her tears as she took her clothes from Draco’s hands. She pulled out her wand from her pocket and began to dry her robes. Draco forced himself to look away as she slipped into her clothes.

As soon as she was dressed, the two headed back to the castle. Draco was still shivering, but at least now Luna was warm and dry. The pair quietly entered the castle, making sure to avoid each other’s gaze. The castle was silent and dark. “Um, thanks for helping me,” Luna said softly.

Draco cringed with guilt. “Don’t mention it,” he muttered.

Luna looked at him curiously for a moment, as if she wanted to tell him something. Suddenly Draco remembered the Divination essay. He couldn’t make her do his work for him, not after this…

“Hey listen, about the essay, I have Quidditch practice but –“

Luna cut him off. “It’s fine. I can finish it. Really.”

Draco was silent. After a long pause, he said, “why did you choose to work with me anyway?”

At this, Luna gave a sly smile. “Because I love you,” she said gently. She leaned over to the startled Malfoy and softly kissed his lips.

Draco turned bright red and pulled away quickly. “What? What do you –“

“See you tomorrow, Draco,” Luna replied cheerfully, and she skipped away to the Ravenclaw Tower as Draco stared in astonishment.