A/N: Just had a little thought about what would happen if Luna ever ran into Draco during HBP.

Disclaimer: If I were J.K. Rowling, Remus, Tonks, Fred, and Dobby would not be gone.

Rating: K+

Genre: Hurt/Comfort/Friendship

Summary: Draco Malfoy and Luna Lovegood have a unexpected meeting in the Astronomy Tower. HBP Movie-verse.

Unexpected

Luna Lovegood did not know what compelled her to go to the astronomy tower that night. Perhaps it was the Nargles, or maybe the Wrackspurts. Whatever the reason, Luna was not complaining as she climbed the curving staircase. It was quite peaceful up there. She moved slowly, not in a rush. She was never in a real rush. Why rush somewhere when it's much nicer to walk leisurely? You end up in the same place anyway.

In her hand was a copy of the Quibbler. She had already read this edition, but she liked it better than some of the others and thought it would be nice to read it by moonlight in the tower. It was not time for bed quite yet, but it was nearing that time, so she was a little surprised to see Draco Malfoy, still completely dressed (in a very nice suit), leaning against the tower railing. For half a second Luna hesitated, then deciding she did not want to waste the beautiful night, and seeing that there was more than enough room for the both of them, and not being one to be prejudiced against any house member, she walked over and sat down on one of the window seats.

"Good evening, Draco," she said vaguely as she opened the Quibbler and began to read.

Draco whirled around, swiping at his face as though wiping away tears. He scowled at the dreamy Ravenclaw, not happy at all by the fact that she was invading his personal space. He thought if he glared at her long enough, she would look up, catch his drift, and then leave. Unfortunately nothing like that happened. Luna simply licked her finger, turned a page, and continued reading.

Seriously annoyed now, Draco snapped. "What are you doing here?"

Luna looked up at him slowly, with wide eyes. Looking from one side to the other, as if making sure they were indeed alone, she leaned forward slightly and spoke in a soft voice.

"I believe it was Nargles," she said solemnly. At Draco's blank stare, she leaned back and tilted her head. "It's alright if you don't believe me. None of the Slytherin do. But I don't mind. Most of you have more Wrackspurts than others, so it's understandable that you wouldn't know about some things."

Draco took a step forward, grinding his teeth. "Are you calling us stupid?" he ground out.

Luna looked surprised. "On the contrary," she said. "Even the smartest man in the world may not know about Wrackspurts. They do funny things to people."

There was silence for a moment as Draco tried to figure that one out. Luna thought about returning to her magazine, but now that Draco was in front of her and she had taken some time to study him, she felt something was wrong.

"Begging your pardon, Draco, but I think there's something wrong."

Draco stiffened. "What do you mean?" he asked sharply. "The only thing that's wrong here is the fact that I'm still talking to you!" He flung his hands in the air helplessly, barely concealing the wince the movement brought. Turning his back on the Ravenclaw girl, Draco inhaled deeply, letting the air out slowly as he did his best not to breakdown. It would not be good in any situation, but especially not now. He clutched at the searing pain in his left arm.

"My father says I'm good at reading people," Luna said thoughtfully, tilting her head to the other side now. "He says I get it from my mother. However, you are very hard to read." She stood slowly, holding the Quibbler to her chest. "It took me all this time to figure it out. You're struggling with something. I don't know what, but I know it's important, and it's eating you up inside." She paused, studying his back and noticing how he seemed to have hunched over as if in pain.

"I'm sorry about your father by the way," she added after a moment. "I can't imagine losing someone like that. My mother died when I was very young, but at least she was happy. I don't think you father is very happy."

Draco suddenly whirled on her, grabbing her throat and slamming her up against the wall. "Don't you ever talk about my father, you filthy blood-traitor," he spat, trying not to notice the surprise and slight pain in Luna's large eyes. "You're not even fit to speak his name," he added, easing up somewhat on his grip. She continued to stare at him.

"Is that why you're always alone this year?" she asked, her voice so soft, lilting and innocent it made Draco's head hurt to think of what he might have just done to her. He pulled his hand away completely and just stood there, breathing heavily.

"Does it make you feel better to push people away and hurt them?" she persisted. She knew there was something hurting inside of him, and she did not like for anyone to be hurt, Slytherin or no.

"My life is none of your business," Draco growled, but his voice cracked slightly, making it less threatening than he wanted it to be.

Luna sighed and turned her head to the side, looking out over the expanse of water before the Astronomy Tower. Draco saw the red marks on her lily-white neck that his hands had caused and did his best not to wince. He had no problem hurting Potter, like he did on the train, but Luna was a girl for one and delicate.

"My father says I care too much. But I think it's nicer to care too much than not at all, don't you?" She turned slightly and looked at him. Before he could respond however, she frowned. "Wrackspurts. All over the place." She flapped her hand back and forth in front of his face.

Annoyed, he grabbed her wrist in a tight grasp, freezing it in front them. Her question about caring stuck something within him. He did care. He cared about a lot of things. He cared, for instance, about his mother and father. He cared about the fact that if he did not fulfill his duty, the Dark Lord would kill him and his parents. The emotions inside of him were tumultuous at best, ever since he had received the assignment. He knew he was too much of a coward to defy the Dark Lord, but could he really go through with killing someone in cold blood? That was not who Draco was . . . he was not a killer. A murderer. A . . . monster.

He had seen the way his aunt Bellatrix screeched with laughter whenever talking about her latest kill. Just remembering that laugh caused a shiver to run up his spine. Had she been forced to do something against her will when she was young? Was that why she was as mad as she was? He did not know, but one thing he knew: he could never be a sadistic animal like her. Only . . . the Dark Lord was not giving him much of a choice. And the possibility that he could become one scared the heck out of him.

And now, this innocent girl looking up at him, with eyes as blue as the sky and almost as big and deep, asking him if he cared . . . it was too much.

"Stop that," he hissed. "Why don't you go back to your common room and . . . read a dictionary or whatever it is you Ravenclaws do?" he suggested, tossing her arm back to her. She let it fall to her side, her other arm still clutching the Quibbler issue.

She studied him again, taking in his gaunt cheeks, his messy hair, the sweat droplets trickling down his temples, the haunted look in his light blue eyes, the slightest quiver of his pale lips. He seemed in a tizzy now, and she knew she had struck close to home with something she had said to him. Hopefully he would open up now and feel much better afterwards, like most people did. If not she would leave him alone, like he asked.

"The Wrackspurts make your head go fuzzy," she explained. "Your head seems too full of them enough already." She gave him a vague smile. "If you ever feel like they're overwhelming, just wave your hand around your ears a bit. That should keep most of them at bay."

Draco could not help snorting slightly. "Look, it's not that I don't appreciate what you're trying to do, it's just . . ." he paused, then scowled. "Actually, I really don't appreciate it. Leave me alone."

Luna decided to try one more thing, something she had seen work many times in Muggle moving-pictures and stories. "Alright," she said simply, and then leaned up to gently peck him on his lips. Really, it was more like lip, for she only caught his bottom one. Draco looked so stunned (and somewhat horrified), she had to smile.

"That seems to work some times," she commented lightly. "When someone is in pain. I thought I'd try it. It seems like a rather overrated thing, doesn't it?"

With that she turned and skipped off down the stairs. Draco stared after her, unable to wrap his mind around what she had just done. For some reason his lip burned, and he hoped it was the cause of inconvenient hormones and nothing more. Running his hand over his face, he turned back to the railing of the tower, trying his best to forget his conversation with the strange Ravenclaw girl. No wonder they all called her Loony, he reflected.

Still, her words had got him to thinking, although not in the way he knew she had hoped. Her words did nothing to make him feel better. In fact, he just felt worse.

Luna on the other hand, felt strangely bouncy. It had been her first kiss, she realized. Although technically it was more of a lip touch then an actual kiss. Still, it made her stomach feel all bubbly for some reason. Deciding to blame it on Nargles, since they were the ones who planted mistletoe all over the castle during Christmastime, Luna promptly forgot about it and went on to bed.