Sanity

by moomolie1709

Chapter 1
A/N: My first Harry Potter story, Draco/Luna. I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 1

Draco Malfoy had been watching her for years now, and she had transformed before his eyes.

She had been the optimistic, albeit strange girl that danced through the halls of Hogwarts with long blond hair billowing behind her whimsical figure. The impact she had on him during their early years was profound. No one, least of all himself, could have begun to comprehend just how fond a boy as staid and distant as him would grow of someone like her.

She had once foolishly given him the blind and naive trust she thought everyone deserved. Those wide wondrous blue eyes that had refused to judge him had been determined to understand the real Slytherin Prince.

But what he saw now was a broken reflection of what had been. And her wand, the one he taught her how to properly harness, was now pressed threateningly against his throat. Her childlike orbs now looked on at him with absolute disdain.

The tears welled as she stared unblinking slid down on delicate pale cheeks, her quivering pink lips biting back an agonizing cry. The feelings of betrayal swelled in her chest, constricting her lungs, effectively making it impossible to breathe.

War was never kind, and they found themselves on opposing sides. Clashes between their contrasting beliefs and intensities were inevitable, and left their strong bond in shambles.

Luna thought she knew him, she thought he would never turn his hand against her. Everyone warned her about the selfish Malfoy heir, but she didn't believe them. She felt a connection with him that told her he was different. She was wrong. She put too much faith in angry, evil boy who never learned how to love.

"How could you?" her voice cracked, more water escaping from her eyes as she shut them tightly. Just looking at him made her stomach twist in disgust. "Monster,"

The innocence he treasured and nurtured in her before had been violently ripped away, she looked so lost without it. Despite her long period of absence, his hand still raised slowly out of habit. He gently brought his hand to cup the side of her face, fingers gingerly brushing away her fallen tears.

Her eyelids flung open at his touch, and the tip of wand dug uncomfortably to his Adam's apple, yet he continued to caress her visage, completely unphased. She couldn't see it, but her gesture didn't please him in the slightest.

Seeing her after so long had left him in a trance, easily allowing her to pin him to the wall. She acted recklessly,he was stronger than she could ever dream to become, it wouldn't take much for him to overpower her. Even if all it took was a spell to strike him down, she would never be able to do it. And he knew it.

His heart ached at the sight of her pain, but he reminded himself, he had changed too. Before she could fight back, Draco's arms flashed forward and reversed their positions, pushing her up against the chilling stone surface and disarming her in one swift movement.

He wasn't the same terrified and pathetic child of sixteen, freshly branded with the Dark Mark. The sign still burned on his inner forearm, it was a part of him now. He had proven his allegiance to the Dark Lord himself, he was revered a hero among the new world. He was a matured Death Eater, and a bloody dangerous one at that. While the wizarding world had been thrown into instability and chaos, his life was steady with promise. Only one case of business remained unfinished.

The action was aggressive, but then turned entirely intimate. Their bodies pressed so close together, he leaned in further so his forehead rested right above hers. He didn't remember her being so small or fragile.

She was resisting him, he could feel her struggling against his grasp. She began shrugging him off, her hands on his chest, but only half-heartedly. In truth, she was equally as intoxicated by his presence, she didn't want to break physical contact.

She couldn't bring herself to tell him off, so she instead turned her head, avoiding his gaze. She played this moment on in her head countless times before. she was supposed to be strong, she was supposed to resist, she was supposed to avenge. But here she was, like melted honey all over again.

"Not happy to see me, Lovegood?" his words slid out smooth, she could hear his lips turning up into its wicked smirk. He was always cruel to her, that would never be different. He didn't know what he was waiting for, or why he had ordered her there.

He kept to himself, a private man, so he didn't understand how others knew of his deep attachment to the beautiful blond. Most people though he had cut himself away from his past. But he should've known better than to assume his dear aunt wouldn't interfere. Bellatrix loved to make him tick, so she did the one thing she knew would sent her nephew up the wall.

Bellatrix brought a new trophy to the Malfoy Manor. Adorned with handcuffs and chains, the broken prize was paraded around his home. Prisoners were no anomaly in his life now, countless had been condemned in their treason during the war. He sometimes thought of how he would react if he saw Longbottom or Weasely being led around in links of metal, and laughed at their expense. He never liked them, found them absolutely insufferable.

But Draco did like Luna, and when he saw her bruised, wounded, and rake thin stumbling through his own home, he lost his calm. He barely spared a moment to apprehend Bellatrix, he was too preoccupied with the flaxen haired fairy on the verge of passing out. He never imagined Luna to be the fighting type in the field, at risk in the dangerous crossfire. He never thought she would end up in his possession again.

He naturally swept her limp form up into his arms and took her back to his private quarters. He left for less than an hour before he returned, only to be greeted by her new hostility.

"Look at me," he commanded, he didn't like it when she wasn't making eye contact. When she refused to comply, he took her chin with one hand and roughly forced it up to meet him. She was hollow, a far cry from the bright cheery Ravenclaw she was known to be.

He couldn't stop himself from drinking in her appearance one more time. Disheveled hair, dirt smeared complexion, ripped rags, she was still breathtaking. He preferred her healthy glow to the way she looked now, but no one could compare. Through the time they spent apart, Draco had been offered a sturdy number of advances, but he refused them all. No one reached his standard, despite the great lengths the resorted to. Somehow, Luna had effortlessly captured him all over again.

Her heart beat out of control, striking her rib cage with each hit. She felt as if her chest was going to burst from the pressure.

While she felt his eyes ravaging her body, she took the opportunity to examine him. Not much had been altered physically, he still possessed the same flawless sculpted face, silver blond hair, and devilish smile. But as she let it sink in, she realized his old self hadn't been entirely preserved. He grew significantly taller, his shoulders broader.

She had been facing the same truth for three excruciating years after he abandoned Hogwarts to support Lord Voldemort's army.

Draco was a different person, unrecognizable.

He was a killer, a murderer, a vile version of her old confidant.

But the truth still shone through, and she knew it. She loved him, and she would be helpless to do anything about it. After everything that he had done, the sins he had committed against her and her loved ones, she shouldn't be able to accept him.

She was terrified of Draco now, petrified with fear. Disconcerted, angry, frustrated, she was at loss of what to do.

Her previous classmates nicknamed her 'Looney' Lovegood, the mad petite girl with an imagination for creatures that didn't exist. They said she had lost her sanity. But Luna never thought much of their taunting, she considered herself an intellectual with legitimate beliefs. However, as she stood there, staring deep into gray eyes, she began to reconsider.

"Let go of me," it took all of her courage to muster such a soft whisper, his hand still held one of her wrists with a crippling grip.

Maybe she had indeed lost her sanity.

He glowered over her, unexplained rage emitting through his core. He could feel the girl under him he bent down further, so now his lips resting by her ear.

His voice lower than before, he breathed out in a deep tone, "Never," he paused letting the air tickle the side of her neck, "Never again,"

End Chapter 1

A/N: Thank you for reading, I hope you liked it! Please leave me a comment/review if you want me to continue!