Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns it all. I'm just borrowing her characters. The poem belongs to the late great Emily Dickenson.

Exponential

Love is anterior to life.

Posterior to death,

Initial of creation, and

The exponent of breath

Silvery white wisps of cloud artfully etched across a sky more midnight blue than inky black. There was not a sound to be heard; not from the nature surrounding them nor from girl sitting beside him. Draco tore his stormy gray eyes from the heavens to look upon the face so captivated by the few scattered stars shining brilliance and dreams.

The pale moonlight embraced her like an old friend. Illuminating the serenity she found away from Hogwarts and surprisingly with him. Tonight in the dark, caressed by silence, blessed with peace Luna Lovegood glowed and Draco Malfoy lost his breath, so stunned was he.

"Luna you're shivering." The slytherin remarked once he recovered the power of speech. He swallowed deeply. Faint warning bells were going off in his head, but the platinum blonde shook his head and shook them off.

"Am I? I didn't notice."

"I know. Come here." He murmured and pulled her into his lap. Draco ran his hands up and down her goose pimpled arms as they settled comfortably against one another. The mismatched pair said nothing much after that; nothing of import anyway. They simply sat on a dark green blanket in front of a lake, wrapped up in each other, and the sky that brought them together.

"Draco?" Luna turned to look at him and he received the full impact of those beautiful blue eyes. "May I kiss you?" She bit her lip, the worry of his rejection evident upon her face. She was so innocent.

The bells they tolled, in Draco's mind, much louder than before. This was wrong. They were on opposing sides. He should tell her so. He should tell her no. He should push her off his lap and tell the loon to go rot with Morgana Le Fey below.

But the Malfoy heir couldn't because he was a selfish prat. He didn't want to let go of the feelings he refused to name. He couldn't go on without the one person who just let him be unconditionally. At the very least he owed it to her to try.

Draco brushed an errant dark blond strand from her face bringing her closer to him. "We can end this you know? Right here and right now before we go too far." He warned.

"Such noble words. I almost thought you Gryffindor." Luna whispered against his lips.

Draco nipped at her lower lip for the slight against him. Damn her. It still disconcerted the platinum blonde to see how she saw through him.

The ravenclaw smiled. "Well Mr. Malfoy I know all the risks and I still ask: may I kiss you?"

"On one condition." Draco bargained.

The dark blonde tilted her head in askance. "Condition?" She queried.

"Yes." Draco smirked. "One kiss for one butterbeer bottle cap."

"Oh. I think that can be arranged." Luna smiled as Draco drew her closer.