Snagging the Malfoy
Disclaimer: Not mine.
Chapter 4 – The Day Pigs Fell From The Sky
Luna Lovegood was hungry.
After all, she had barely had the time to finish her dinner earlier today, and judging from the most interesting thing that had happened in the Great Hall that night the blonde decided that she really shouldn't blame herself.
It was just too bad that her tummy wouldn't stop rumbling its protests.
Luna stared at the canopied ceiling of her bed and contemplated her circumstances.
She was hungry but it was already midnight. Everyone in her dorm was already fast asleep and Filch was probably out prowling in the hallways gleefully looking for students still wandering about after curfew.
But on the other hand, Ginny had shown her the entrance to the kitchens once, and if she was quick she probably wouldn't get caught. Besides, there was a full moon tonight and who knows, she might even get to see the delightful sight of a herd of dancing Mooncalves.
That was enough to cement Luna's decision. She sat up.
She was going to make the trip to the kitchens. The blonde scooted off her bed and despite the cold floors opted to pad silently out of her dorm barefooted. She also decided against a warm shawl, thinking to make a quick trip and be back after a little snack. Luna slowly walked out of the dark dormitory, her elbow-length blonde hair and thin white nightgown a glowing halo in the darkness. She was out of the Ravenclaw Tower in a matter of minutes, and her heart pounded with the excitement of creeping around the hallways with a high chance of being caught. It was an exhilarating feeling and Luna understood immediately why the Gryffindors seemed to like doing this on a regular basis.
The pretty Ravenclaw scurried to the end of the hallway and quickly descended the long flight of stairs that would lead her to the kitchens. There was still quite some ways to go, however; the kitchens were located in the dungeons below the Great Hall and she was nearly eight floors above. Luna kept her ears sharp for any sound as she darted down the stairways quickly. Filch must be patrolling in some other parts of the castle for Luna saw no sight of him or Mrs. Norris as she easily navigated down seven floors with no trouble whatsoever, thank Merlin for that. The blonde descended to the ground floor and was about to dart across the hallway to reach the last flight of stairs when she felt eyes on her. She slowed down but did not stop completely, turning to regard the darkened corridors with an inquisitive tilt of her head as she continued to move towards the stairs leading to the dungeons. Pale silvery eyes registered no movement at all and satisfied that it was probably her imagination, Luna proceeded to head down towards the kitchens, sweet relief singing in her veins.
"You are looking at a detention with Filch, you know."
The soft purr caused Luna to freeze in mid-step.
She turned slowly, and her eyes widened at the sight of the tall Slytherin standing right before her. She glimpsed the sardonic amusement in the Prefect's indigo eyes and grimaced in reaction.
Dancing Doxies, she was busted.
Blaise regarded the blonde before him with a slightly arched brow. The sixth year was clad in only a virginal white nightgown that was slightly see through when she stood before the dim stairway lights. He doubted that she was aware of it, but he could see her lithe form clearly. Not one to refuse an offer when it was so temptingly presented to him, the lanky male perused her leisurely. She was of average height, her breasts were high and pert, a sweet indent of a waist, flaring feminine hips, and sleek thighs that her nightgown clung happily to. Her eyes of liquid silver were bright in the semi-darkness and her waist-length dirty blonde hair was tousled and floated around her in a most enticing manner.
The Prefect's brow kept rising higher and higher as he processed what he saw.
Loony Lovegood had grown up to be a delectable beauty.
He would never have thought that this was what she had been hiding under her school robes had he not caught her tonight. With her pale features, white gown and blonde hair, there was an ethereal Faye-like quality around her. Blaise wondered if she was out meeting her lover, and if it was so he was probably a Slytherin or a Hufflepuff, judging from the direction that she was heading towards.
"What are you doing out here?" He asked abruptly as indigo eyes snapped to gentle grey ones. Luna blinked at him, and inwardly Blaise realized that she was hardly intimidated by his harsh tone or his notoriety. For some reason, that pleased him.
"I was hungry." She said as she pushed a few tendrils of hair out of her face. The gracefully feminine gesture distracted him and he frowned slightly when he had to fall back on his photographic memory to recall what she had just said.
He stared skeptically at her attire. "You were going to visit the kitchens barefooted and…improperly dressed?"
Luna looked down at herself. She was adequately covered. Then she looked back up at the dark Slytherin with the pure black hair and full Prefect regalia and thought that maybe that was what he meant.
"I was hoping to see Mooncalves tonight. They are intensely shy, you know." Luna spoke again, her voice soft and calm. "If I make less noise and act less conspicuous maybe they will let me near enough to touch them."
Blaise looked incredulously at Luna. With that attire she was in, she was about as inconspicuous as Snape in a pink tutu. He shook his head inwardly and brushed past her as he descended the stairs. Luna gazed after the retreating Prefect with a look of confusion on her face. Wasn't he going to report her?
"Come. Aren't you going to the kitchens?" the tall male paused at the foot of the stairway to look at her. Not wanting to question the Slytherin's suddenly good intentions Luna nodded and immediately hurried down after him. They walked along the corridor in silence until they reached the painting of the bowl of fruit. Remembering what Ginny had done, the blonde reached out and tickled the pear, smiling a little herself when the fruit giggled and became a door handle. Luna was about to open it when Blaise did the honors for her, pulling the portrait door open and waiting for her to enter. She entered timidly, wondering inwardly why Zabini of the infamous Slytherin trio was being so nice to her.
She promptly forgot about her worrying thoughts when she stepped into the cheery kitchens. A hearty fire was blazing in the brick fireplace and although the preparation tables were clean and devoid of food, there were still House-elves milling about. Dobby was one of them, and the cheerful House Elf wearing a ridiculous hat (Luna was sure that it had been knitted by Hermione) and a pair of children's soccer shorts rushed to a stop before her. "Friend of Miss Wheezy!" The elf chirped with delight. "How can Dobby help her tonight?"
Luna's silvery eyes sparkled at the enthusiastic elf. "I am hungry, Dobby." She spoke nicely to the pint-sized House-Elf that barely reached her hips. "Do you have any cookies for a little snack?"
Dobby nodded. "Would Dobby bring a glass of milk as well?"
Luna nodded gratefully. "That would be nice." She turned to Blaise then, who had been standing in silence beside her. "Would you like anything as well?" The Slytherin shook his head, and Dobby disappeared quickly into the huge kitchens. Luna wandered over to one of the small tables that the elves would normally rest at and was surprised when Zabini followed after her. She took a seat on one of the chairs and looked a little amused by the slight look of distaste that fleeted across the Prefect's handsome face before he too, took a seat opposite her.
Dobby appeared then, and after laying the large plate of cookies and a tall glass of warm milk the elf bid both students a cheery good evening before bustling off to do his own things.
Utterly famished by now, Luna picked up a large chocolate chip cookie and bit into it with great relish, chewing enthusiastically and allowing the wonderful taste to spread in her mouth. "Don't you have patrol duties to attend to?" The blonde asked the Slytherin Prefect when she washed down the mouthful of cookie with a self-assured swig of milk.
Blaise watched as the Ravenclaw darted out a small pink tongue to sweep away the milk moustache on her upper lip. She reached for another cookie and ate it happily, her silvery eyes showing her contentment. The tall Slytherin was fascinated. The girls whom he had dated would never dare touch anything as fattening as the delicious confection that Lovegood was currently polishing off with great delight. He found it ridiculous, but they had also claimed to be self-conscious when eating with him, which was why he seldom if ever saw his female companions actually consuming anything substantial before him, odd as it was. Lovegood was a startling contrast. The way the blonde was behaving made him think that she would hardly care less if he was the Minister of Magic, let alone Blaise Zabini.
She looked questioningly at him and once more he cursed himself inwardly for being entranced by her unique behavior. Something was seriously wrong with him if he found the crazy Ravenclaw intriguing. "You are my current duty." He answered brusquely, his normally melodic voice rough with annoyance. "Hurry up and finish your food. I will have to walk you up to your dorm so that you don't run around after curfew again."
Luna shrugged and continued eating her cookies. She finished off another three more and drained her glass of milk before proclaiming herself full. Zabini got to his feet and stood aside in silence as Luna delicately brushed crumbs off her before using a napkin to dab her mouth clean. She stood up and wandered off to thank Dobby before following the Slytherin back out into the dark corridor.
"You needn't be so polite to the House-elf." Zabini observed as they made their way up the first flight of stairs. "He is being paid to do his job."
"Mama always told me to be grateful for the things people have done for me." Was her soft reply as he guided her across the hallways and up another flight of stairs. She stared at him with luminous eyes. "Are you really sure that you want to walk me up, Zabini? It is seven floors up and I can reach there by myself."
The Slytherin continued walking beside her. "I know where the Ravenclaw dormitories are." He said dryly before turning to stare at her in a slightly challenging manner. "Why? Thinking of sneaking off to meet your boyfriend now?"
Luna was so surprised by his question that both her eyebrows shot up, and Blaise knew immediately that the thought had never entered her mind. "And why would I want to do that for?" She asked him innocently.
It was now Blaise's turn to be surprised. He looked at her in pure incredulity for a split second before his face smoothed back to its bland mask once more. He shrugged easily. "I don't know. Would you?"
Luna shook her head immediately. "Ginny, Colin and Zacharias are more fun to sneak around with, and they don't mind running around barefooted and in their pajamas with me." Blaise shot her an arch look over her apparent reference to his remark earlier.
"Well, I'm sure Malfoy would appreciate that information."
Luna stopped then. "Malfoy?" She echoed softly, her face thoughtful. The Slytherin nodded.
"You know," he drawled lazily as he motioned for her to keep moving. "That 'stupid git' your redheaded friend snogged in front of everybody today?"
The Ravenclaw could not help herself. She laughed, and for the third time that night Blaise found himself distracted by the little blonde by his side. Her laughter wasn't like the soft tinkling of bells, but it was pleasant and best of all, genuine. Her eyes glinted with mirth and her small pink lips spread into a tiny smile. Blaise felt his own curl in an amused smirk.
"Oh my." Luna said at last when her sudden fit of giggles subsided. "Ginny shouldn't have said that. It was all I could do not to laugh out loud when I heard what she had said." She looked curiously at Zabini. "Is Malfoy angry with Ginny?"
The Prefect shot the Ravenclaw an arrogant look. "Playing spy for your friend?" He asked knowingly. Luna shrugged.
"She likes him. I don't know why, but she really does." Luna looked solemnly at the Slytherin as they climbed that last flight of stairs. "Will Ginny be ok?"
She looked at him with such childlike expectation and it affected the Slytherin so much that for the first time ever he blurted out what was on his mind without weighing the consequences or wording his answer for a maximum, if not witty, impact.
"Draco won't hurt her."
Blaise knew even as he spoke the words that he had probably been manipulated. Then came his next realization; Luna Lovegood was one dangerous opponent. He had no idea how she had managed to get him to lower his guard around her so quickly but she had succeeded. His indigo eyes narrowed with fury upon the seemingly innocent girl beside him but Luna appeared oblivious to her own victory. The unusual behavior threw the Slytherin in for a loop and his wrath faded slightly. Then she nodded trustingly at him, taking his words for its value without even demanding for an explanation and that confused him enough to let go of all his frustrations.
She wasn't manipulating him.
If nothing else Zabini was smart, and it did not take him long to add everything together to come to that conclusion. Judging by the way that she had behaved earlier the Slytherin quickly understood that the blonde walking sedately beside him didn't have a cunning bone in her very nice body. She was however, very innocent, so much so to an extent that he had never seen before in a sixteen-year old girl, which was why he had totally mistaken her guileless behavior for something else. It was really amazing, and the normally perceptive Zabini felt pretty foolish for not having realized it sooner.
His facial expression did not reveal his chagrin though, and it was an impassive face that Luna had looked up to when they finally reached the entrance to the Ravenclaw Common Room. The blonde stared at the bland expression on the Slytherin's face and suddenly felt very awkward, which was ridiculous because she didn't even know him well enough to care about how he thought of her. In fact, she was pretty sure that he did not even know of her name. Luna would have ran into the safety of her Common Room had she not remembered Mama's teachings. She grimaced inwardly; sometimes having to be always polite isn't what it sets out to be.
"Thank you for helping me tonight." Luna spoke quickly to the floor, her cheeks colored pink and her eyes looking at everywhere but him. Then she turned away to whisper the password to the Common Room entrance, and was about to slip in between the portrait door when she felt long fingers encircle her wrist. Startled, she turned quicksilver eyes down to the hand that was preventing her escape before lifting them to meet darkly amused shades of indigo.
"Don't thank me, little one. I did not help you for free." His soft purr alarmed the dreamy Ravenclaw and her eyes widened with apprehension. She watched confused as the larger Slytherin male lifted his free hand and twined a lock of her soft, blonde hair around his perfectly manicured fingers. Mesmerized, she continued staring in a dazed stupor as he brought his hand up to deliver a chaste kiss on her hair, his dark eyes never leaving hers for once. She shivered, but not totally from fear and the slight gleam in his eyes told Luna that he was aware of it as well.
"You owe me now, Luna."
"Well, if it isn't Saint Potter and his sidekick, the Weasel King."
Harry looked up at the feminine drawl and narrowed his emerald eyes at none other than Pansy Parkinson. Ron stiffened. They had been waiting outside the entrance of the Slytherin Common Room since this morning, and it had taken very imaginative threats of extreme bodily harm to three Slytherin first years before someone finally deign to come out of the snake pit.
"Parkinson." Ron growled as he towered over the seemingly unconcerned Slytherin. "Where is Mal-ferret?"
"Right here, Weasley. Or are you so poor that you cannot recognize sophistication when you see it?" The tall Gryffindor keeper turned back to the entrance to see an impeccably dressed Draco Malfoy step out gracefully from the Common Room, white blond hair in an artful disarray and metallic grey eyes glinting with derision. Ron gritted his teeth; he started to regret his promise to his sister the night before. Ginny must have been fed with some sort of mind-controlling potion; how else could his sweet baby sister think of such scum as her Soulmate?
"Malfoy." Harry interrupted quietly, his calm, reasonable tone more effective than any form of yelling, screaming and shouting could be. "We are not here to pick a fight."
The blonde's eyebrow arched up. "Oh? Then please, please enlighten us as to what two Gryffindors are doing in the ungodly hours of a Saturday morning, I might add, kicking up a ruckus outside the Slytherin Common Room and yet claiming not to be looking for a fight." The irritation in Malfoy's eyes was unmistakable by now, and Harry stared at his arch nemesis oddly.
"You are annoyed that we interrupted your beauty sleep, aren't you?" The Gryffindor spoke then, and the Head Boy rolled his eyes.
"No. I am annoyed that you interrupted my morning yoga exercises with Madam Pince. Use your brain, Potter. Must you keep spouting the obvious? I know that you Gryffindors wake up all sunny and ready to take on all the evils of the world but the rest of us normal people need our rest, you know. Well? What do you want?" Malfoy crossed his arms against his chest and stared superiorly at the two Gryffindors.
Ron shook his head in disgust. "I really don't know what Gin saw in a pansy like you."
"Watch it, Weasel King." The female Slytherin that he had unintentionally (or maybe not) insulted warned. Ron looked like he hardly cared. The tall redhead stared hard at the bane of his existence.
"I need to talk to you about Ginny." Ron looked almost in physical pain as he forced those words out of his mouth. This was worst than a nightmare.
Malfoy's eyebrow rose higher. He was beginning to understand the purpose of this visit. "Oh I get it now. You and Potter are going to read me the riot act." He smirked, and it was all Ron could do not to wrap his hands around the bloody Ferret's neck. "You might as well save yourself the trouble. I never said that I want anything to do with the Weaslette, did I?"
"You bloody-What?!" Ron stopped in the middle of his cursing and gazed at Malfoy with a mixture of shock and growing hope. Even Harry looked surprised. "You really don't want anything to do with Ginny?" The redhead asked, his eyes filled with increasing optimism. Malfoy was so disgusted by that grateful puppy-eyed look that the Weasel King was giving to him that he almost said 'no' just to get that revolting gaze away from him. The blonde nodded curtly instead and turned his gaze away from the male Weasley, trying hard not throw up. Pansy snickered.
"But-but…You kissed her!" Ron got over his relief quick enough to frown at Malfoy once more.
Draco sneered. "That was merely a little demonstration to that little Blood Traitor what she would never have. I know that I am irresistible, but try to keep your horny little sister away from me in the future. I don't bed dirty Weasleys."
Ron turned red. It was one thing to call him names, but to defame Ginny…
"You goddamned bastard!!" Ron would have launched himself at Malfoy had Harry not leap in the way at the last moment. Unlike his taller friend he had not missed the wands that both Parkinson and Malfoy had whipped out, ready for the redhead's attack.
"Ron! Give it up." Harry ordered as he struggled with 190 pounds of enraged Weasley. Sometimes he wondered why he was always playing peacemaker. Ron was no longer the skinny boy that he was a few years back, and Malfoy more than deserved the redhead's wrath. Merlin knows that he tries his best to incite it all the time. "He said that he is not interested in Ginny. You should be rejoicing. Don't bother about what else he says."
It was just too bad that Ron was seeing the world through a most lovely shade of red, and nothing seemed to be able to get through to his head. Harry worried that he might very well enter into a Berserker's Rage.
"What's all that racket outside? What have I missed?" An impeccable Zabini sauntered out of the opening, stretching lazily as he did so. Malfoy smirked.
"Nothing much." The blonde drawled. "Just an insane Weasel scratching at the wrong tree."
"Ah." Was Blaise's reply as he glimpsed the red-faced Weasley and a grim looking Potter. "Shall we go for breakfast then?"
Draco shrugged. "Might as well." The two Slytherins brushed past the Gryffindors nonchalantly. "Pansy, are you coming?"
"I will be there." She called out as her friends disappeared around a corner. The beautiful brunette stared at the still enraged Weasley and the straining Potter. The Gryffindor Seeker was having a hard time restraining his friend. His spectacles were displaced from his nose and his jet-black hair was messier than usual.
"Let me go, Harry! I will show Malfoy Weasley trash, all right. I will thrash the crap out of him!!" Ron roared as he attempted to pry his friend-turned-barnacle away from him.
"Stupefy!"
A bolt of red light appeared before the Gryffindors and almost immediately Ron went slack in Harry's restraining hold. The sudden dead weight was too much for the lean teenager and Harry would have fallen onto his backside if not for Pansy's next spell.
"Mobilicorpus."
An unconscious Ron slowly floated away from the green-eyed boy and drifted in an odd position in the air. Relieved that he wouldn't have to deal with Ron's fiery temper anymore, Harry ran a hand through his messy hair and pushed his spectacles back into place. He looked across the corridor to where the beautiful Slytherin was standing.
"Thanks, I guess." Harry muttered to Parkinson and she arched a thin brow at him. That irritated Harry a little, whose patience was already wearing thin for what had happened earlier. Does all Slytherins have a handbook that teaches them how to communicate their sarcasm without words?
"Where do you want to put him?" Pansy asked at last, her voice low and bored. Harry frowned. Not that he didn't appreciate her help, but she needn't behave so haughtily.
"Just lower him to the floor here." He said stiffly. The Slytherin looked skeptical but did as he said. Harry had been expecting Pansy to dump Ron painfully onto the cold dungeon floors but was surprised when she laid his friend onto the ground with utmost gentleness. Pansy must have caught the look on his face for she glided over to him as she return her wand back into her robe pocket.
Harry stiffened slightly when Pansy came so close to him that there was nary an inch between them. Wary emerald clashed with smoky sapphire as the petite brunette pressed her small hands against his chest to tiptoe to his eyelevel. Harry swallowed when her heady strawberry scented perfume inundated his senses and tried not to marvel at the wonderful sensation of her hands on his body. The Gryffindor felt himself tinting the slightest shade of red as he tried not to be affected by the beautiful witch standing before him. Her long, long lashes and huge bewitching blue eyes seemed to swallow up her small porcelain face; and her small button nose and full red lips kept distracting him from pushing her away. Telling himself repeatedly that she was Slytherin scum did not seem to work at all, and he wondered if she was putting some sort charm over him.
"Parkinson." He croaked out at last, trying frantically to look at anywhere but that mesmerizing face and failing miserably. "What are you doing?"
Harry could not help but stare as those long dark lashes swept down to fan milky cheeks as she looked at him coquettishly with half-lidded eyes. Belatedly, the realization that the Slytherin Queen was flirting with him came immediately to mind, but it was just as quick to disappear when she pressed those pouting lips of hers against his own dry ones in a soft, chaste kiss.
His breath hitched.
The kiss ended as quickly as it had begun, but even as she withdrew from him Harry could feel the outline of her soft mouth as intensely as though it had been branded upon his own. It took all of his control not to touch his lips in awe.
Pansy settled back onto her feet and stepped away from Harry. Almost immediately, the look of desire on her face smoothed away to utter impassiveness and the taller male was left to wonder if he had hallucinated the whole 'Pansy Parkinson just cornered and snogged me' thing up. Then he looked into her sapphire eyes once more and saw that expression of want hidden behind mild amusement, and knew that it hadn't been his overactive imagination at all.
"Rennervate." No sooner had he heard the Slytherin's delightfully husky voice, Ron started to stir.
Uncaring of all the noise the Gryffindor Keeper was making on the floor between them, Pansy stared into the beautiful green eyes of The-Boy-Who-Lived for a split second before allowing her lips to curl in the smallest of smiles. Then without a word she turned suddenly and started to move towards the direction of the stairway, her slim hips swaying in an utterly feminine manner that made Harry flush even harder.
A loud groan from Ron shook him from his disastrous thoughts, and the Gryffindor Seeker quickly went to help his friend up. Harry was trying to get a still out-of-it Ron to sit up properly when he heard Parkinson's parting words, and as usual they were delivered in that low drawl that made him think of very naughty things.
"Do not judge a book by its cover, Harry Potter."
A/N : Haha, Slytherin seduction, anyone?
No D/G interaction in this chapter, but yeah, rather more on the secondary pairings of this fic. I have an overwhelming fixation for Harry/Pansy and Luna/Blaise, and I hope that I can convince more people to ship these pairings as well. I know that they aren't common, but if written well, whoa, haha.
I would like to thank Volurin and nun outfits are cool for volunteering to beta this fic. You cannot imagine how grateful I am to hear this. I am having my exams now and I don't know when I can crank out the next chapter but when I do I will be sure to send it to the both of you, if the offer still stands that is. Anyway, I am really grateful for your offers to help straighten out Snagging The Malfoy, at any rate.
Ok, enough mumbles ramblings from the authoress!
Until next time, everyone! Review!