Title: Walking in you Sleep

Genre: Comfort, General

Setting: This is based at Hogwarts during the sixth book, more towards the beginning, before he started confiding in Moaning Myrtle.

Description: After Draco runs into Luna sleepwalking, they develop a connection after Luna comforts him in a way that nobody else can or will.

A/N: I've loved this pairing ever since I read the fifth book, but this is the first fan fiction I've written for them. I was feeling a little uneasy about writing this because I was worried about the dialog, but I think it turned out alright. Anyway, I hope you like it!

The long corridors were dark and lonely, with nobody to keep them company but Draco Malfoy, and the undead. He realized this as he walked through the Gray Lady, a result from his poor night vision. He gasped and clutched at his chest, but the ghost didn't seem to be phased by him as she continued to stare straight ahead, unseeing. Draco stopped dead in his tracks, and listened for any other sign of life. Once he was sure that he was alone, he muttered "Lumos," under his breath, trying to keep his voice low.

Draco rolled his eyes at the feeble protests from the portraits surrounding him, desperate for sleep. "Shut up," He mumbled with a great sigh. A few pieces of art guffawed pointedly, clearly offended, but Draco didn't care. He continued down the hallway conspicuously, trying his best to keep quiet. It was a long way from the dungeons to the seventh floor. In other words, there was a lot of space within the castle that he could get caught.

Suddenly, Draco thought he heard a sound up ahead. He stopped, whispering "Nox," into his wand, and stepped backwards against the wall, listening intently. When he heard no other sound for a few minutes he wondered—could it have just been Filtch's cat, Mrs. Norris? Or perhaps he just imagined the sound? He felt uneasy, as if he were being watched, but that feeling was unavoidable at Hogwarts. There were always at least ten pairs of eyes on you coming from the walls.

Regardless to his suspicions, the continued down the hall, quickening his pace. Just as he was turning a corner and relighting his wand, he smacked right into someone, knocking himself down. Because his wand flew out of his hand, he couldn't see who his victim was, but the person appeared to remain on his or her feet. He took in a deep sigh, preparing himself for the scolding that was about to occur, the detention he would receive, and the deduction of house points—but it didn't come. As he groped around the ground for his wand, a dreamy voice confronted him, "Oh—hello, Draco Malfoy."

Finally he obtained his wand and held it up to his opponents face for confirmation. Draco sighed and rolled his eyes as he replied, "What are you doing out here Loony?" He then began staggering to his feet, keeping his wand at shoulder level.

Luna immediately disregarded Draco's cruel nickname and unfriendly tone. "Oh, I don't know. I'm not even sure where I am. I sleepwalk, you see."

Draco scoffed in disbelief as he looked her up and down. He then shrugged, losing interest in the conversation and replied, "Fine, I don't care. You don't have to tell me." He was just about to walk away when she stopped him.

"Hmm—I'm not sure I know what you mean." She said, looking contemplative and cocking her head to one side.

"Please," He snorted taking in her appearance. "You were just sleepwalking? Then why would you still have a wand in your hand and your shoes on?"

She looked down at herself and smiled. "I am very aware of my noctambulism, Draco. So why wouldn't I wear shoes to sleep, if I know that I'll be walking around the castle? It seems a little silly not to." She sounded as if all of this information was obvious.

Draco narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "And the wand?"

Before replying, Luna sat down on the cold stone floor and rested her back against the wall. Draco ignored the odd gesture, and leaned against the wall himself, waiting for her reply curiously. "I always sleep with my wand. I suppose that it's because I'm afraid of it being taken again. People take my things very often."

"Can't imagine why—" Draco mocked, raising one eyebrow.

"Oh no, neither can I," Luna responded, ignorant of his sarcasm. "Last time someone took my wand, it was hidden in a bowl of pudding at dinner. But I suppose that's another reason I wear my shoes to asleep—so nobody is tempted to hide them."

Draco stared at her in surprise, opening and closing his mouth, repeatedly changing his mind for what he was going to say. "Why do you just—stand there and take it, though?" The words were coming out faster than he expected, but he could restrain his curiosity.

Luna pursed he lips slightly, thinking about how to reply. "Well, I think that sometimes we are unable to bring things that are bigger than us to an end, understand?" She asked kindly, looking as if she was thinking about changing her wording.

He felt a large pang in his chest. He knew all too well what she was talking about, ever since he joined up with the deatheaters. "But—" He began, getting irritated. "The people who do that too you aren't bigger than you. They're just students, no more or less than yourself." Draco couldn't realize why he was feeling so angry.

"Oh, yes I agree. But that's not what I meant." Luna said, remaining quite calm. "I was referring to their amusement and good humor that they feel afterwards. Mandy Brocklehurst and Terry Boot don't mean anything by it when they take my things. They're just having a little bit of fun, you know,"

"No, I don't know," He replied, still feeling really irritated. "Instead of defending yourself, you just let other people push you around. Why? Why would you do that? Bloody hell, you're just so ignorant. You're such a child." He went silent. It wasn't until then that Draco realized that he was speaking more to himself then to Luna. It was just driving him crazy that someone would willingly be used as a target, when he had no choice. Suddenly, he took a deep sigh and sat down of the floor next to her, throwing his head back against the wall.

She read his remorseful expression well, and gave him a kind smile. He just smirked in return, for it was the best that he could do. It was the closest thing to a smile he's done in weeks. She then reached out to grab his hand, consolingly. Draco looked at her skeptically, as if she was way off base, but didn't pull away. "If you tell anybody about this, I'll hex you." He warned halfheartedly. Luna didn't reply, but just nodded seriously.

After that night, Luna hadn't seen or spoken to the boy for a few days. When they passed each other in the hallways, he would ignore her gaze, always looking fairly preoccupied. It was understandable to her, of course. She didn't take it personally. He had shown himself to be more vulnerable—more human, than she ever would have suspected. She definitely didn't expect his compassion to continue.

One day, when Luna was getting her books together, she heard a screech coming from the Ravenclaw dormitories above. She looked up curiously before a pair of girls came running down the stairs and stopped in front of her. The first girl down was fuming, her bright red face to prove it. "You!" Mandy shouted, panting.

"Me?" Luna asked, as if this were a request, and not an accusation.

"You did this!" The other one yelled angrily, going to her friend's side at once.

"Oh, hello Terry!" Luna greeted enthusiastically, a genuine smile tugging at her lips. "How are you? Oh wait—you were saying something?" She looked thoughtful, her fingers rubbing against her chin.

"Loony!" Terry shrieked irritably. "Where is all our stuff?"

"You're stuff?" Luna asked, sounding concerned. "I don't know where your stuff is, but I can help you look, if you'd like. I can make some posters. That's what helped me."

Mandy was now shaking with frustration. "Ugh! We know you took it!" But before Luna could reply, Mandy was dragging her friend out of the common room. "Come on Terry, she's obviously just going to play stupid. Let's go have a look around."

Luna followed them out a ways, and then shouted out to them, "Good luck! I hope you find your things!" She noticed one of them grunt with anger before refocusing her attention to another sound. She turned around and saw Draco Malfoy chuckling. "Hey, you're laughing!" Luna observed gleefully.

Draco looked around to see if they were alone before responding. "Yeah, I thought about what you said. Messing with Mandy Brocklehurst and Terry Boot was fun. You should really try it sometime, Loony." He scratched the back of his head, and as fast as it had come, his laughter died away.

"Oh, I don't think so." Luna replied. "I'm glad you had fun, but it still seems a bit mean."

Draco shrugged and leaned back against the wall. "The nargles made me do it." He messed up his face, trying to suppress more laughter. Then, he moved closer to Luna, his mouth inches from her ear. "Just as a warning—Don't eat the pudding at dinner tonight." He withdrew from her, smirked, and was off down the hallway to his next class. They never spoke about it again.

This was the first of many Draco/Luna fics I'm going to make, or at least I hope. I suppose that depends on you, the readers. Let me know if you liked it by leaving a review! Because comments on my stories make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside, and that is what strikes inspiration! Hope you liked it!