𝐃𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐁𝐎𝐑𝐍 | Draco Malfoy

35: The Smart Thing

35: The Smart Thing

A/N: This is a big chapter for plot! Enjoy ;)

Daphne Greengrass

Daphne needed to calm down.

Her dreams were plagued with lavender and blonde hair. Her doodles in class consisted of whispy fairies and greenhouses. Everywhere she went, she looked for a familiar head of blonde hair, prayed that she could bump into Luna for an excuse to speak to her in public.

But she couldn't. She couldn't because she didn't know how she was meant to explain how she was feeling. How she was meant to excuse years of prejudice over a crush. She wasn't meant to have a crush on Luna; had never even had a crush on a girl in the first place. And yet, there she was, with her heart thrumming and her palms sweating at the thought of Luna's smile.

Her heart had not beat this quickly before; not that she could remember.

And here she was again, daydreaming in the Slytherin common room, imagining how life would be if she wasn't a Greengrass. She'd never resented her family nor her name, and she knew it was no use to dwell on what could have been, but she still found herself lost in the fantasy.

Maybe she would've been like Luna; a simple girl from a simple wizarding family, with a simple cottage and an even simpler life. Or perhaps she would've been like Hermione; muggleborn and clueless to magic for most of her life. Either way, she would've been better off with her feelings in another lifetime.

It wasn't because it was a girl. Sure, that was confusing, but it was because it was Luna. Loony Lovegood! Merlin, Daphne had called her that so many times... She'd judged a book by it's cover, and now she wanted to read the pages.

But she had to test her theory, first.

"I heard this muggle story once," Daphne admitted one afternoon, sat in the corner of the library with Luna, "About how lovers are actually two halves of the same person."

"Oh?"

"Like," Daphne sighed, leaning back, "Originally all people were really pairs of people, joined back to back. And that some of the pairs were man and man, some man and woman... and others woman and woman."

Daphne waited, but she had no reaction.

"As in.. We are literally searching for our other half," Daphne finished, "I thought it was cool... But-"

"I like that story," Luna nodded, looking away wistfully, "It makes sense."

"I agree-"

"But I also don't like it."

Daphne furrowed her eyebrows, "How can you like something but also not like it?"

"Quite simply," Lune shrugged, "I like the idea of finding a perfect match, but I don't like the idea that he'd have to be someone perfectly curated to me."

She said he'd.

"Ah," Daphne swallowed, "I see."

"But also I'm not interested," Luna shrugged, "I don't see the big appeal in people like that. I'd rather friends."

Something warmed in Daphne's heart. Okay, maybe friends wasn't that bad of an idea, especially if it made Luna smile like that.

Friends it was.

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Theodore Nott