Chapter 5

Disclaimer: This all belongs to J.K. Rowling.

Draco had been raised to be mindful of his manners and that included the art of reciprocity. He had been offered breakfast; thus, he was honor bound to procure breakfast this week in return. The fact that he hadn't eaten the bagels from last week was a moot point. He still had a duty to perform, and a Malfoy never fell short of expectations.

Draco didn't think too closely about why he was up at the crack of dawn on the first day of his weekend. If he had, he might not have liked the direction that his thoughts led him. His normally peaceful workweek, filled with previously mind-numbing work, had been curiously boring. He realized for the first time that he didn't really have any close confidants or even anyone at work that nodded hello. This was a little disconcerting. No one noticed him at all. Perhaps he had achieved his goal of blending in a little too well.

Since he tried hard not to think these thoughts, even to himself, he didn't have to bother shaking off the sense of unease that was creeping up on him about some of his lifestyle choices. When Saturday morning dawned, he was long awake and ready to greet the day and thought it only appropriate that he bring the first meal of the day to Luna. She seemed particularly fond of it. Not that he cared about her preferences, of course.

Now grumpy about the unintended introspection that he had been trying to stave off, Draco contrarily stopped at the only place that offered breakfast on the way to Luna's, determined not to go out of his way. This was courtesy, no more. He was not making a special effort. If she liked doughnuts, then fine. If not, what was it to him?

He stomped in, the cheerful jangle of the bell annoying him even more. The fluorescent lights made him blink in expected agony...then he realized that he didn't have a headache. The thought stopped him dead in his tracks. This was the first time in a long time that he hadn't been blinded by those harsh lights. Maybe Luna's treatments were really working.

"Can I get you something?" a girl in a ridiculously pink uniform asked him, way too chipper for this time of morning. Ah, well, that's what you get for stopping at a twenty-four hour place where the girls drank coffee all night long, Draco thought condescendingly. Another deplorable American habit. What was wrong with tea?

He shook himself out of his thoughts. "Just pick me out a dozen." He waved his hand, deliberately negligent as to the choices.

"Cake or filled?" the girl leaned over the counter slightly. She seemed to be flirting.

Draco was used to his effect on women. He was particular about who he took home, but he enjoyed the interplay, wherever he was. He was a good-looking man and women appreciated it. Today, however, he felt nothing. Draco fixed the girl with his icy gray stare. The whole thing seemed so silly, really. "Whatever seems best to you, I'm sure. I trust your superior judgment as the doughnut expert." He allowed himself a small smirk. It felt good, like his old self, something he hadn't known he was missing.

The girl got the insult and snapped her spine straight. "Fine."

Draco's eyes fell on a machine behind the counter and a thought wormed its way into his brain. It wouldn't be any extra effort, since he was here anyway, so it was okay. "Is that hot cider?"

"Unh-huh." The girl was tossing his doughnuts into a sack rather more harshly than warranted, he thought.

"I'll take a cup to go, as well," he said. The memory that she liked that was a real one, he knew. She had been drinking it twice since he'd been there.

The girl rolled her eyes to make sure he saw her disdain. "Whatever. That's $7.55."

Draco paid and left. The whole encounter left him in better spirits, and he arrived at Luna's in a decent mood. He knocked briefly and opened the door. As always, the knob turned easily for him and he went in.

"Luna, I brought break..." Draco ground to a halt, as Luna was not to be seen in any of her usual places. Was he there too early? It had taken him a while to actually get there, so it should have been fine. Where was she? "Luna?"

"I'm here," her voice called, muffled, from behind the curtained area.

Draco set the food on the table, pleased with himself. He pulled out a chair to sit down, and found that he was actually looking forward to talking to her and finding out what crazy creature she had a cure for.

He frowned. What was the matter with him? He needed to get out more if he thought Luna Lovegood, of all people, was good company. What would his father think if he could see him now? Draco felt a blush stain his cheeks at the thought. The mighty had certainly fallen. Well, he had fallen far, but he would not fall far enough to lose sight of his pride. Draco held his breath for a moment. He may have needed Luna's help, but he didn't need her friendship. He couldn't forget that.

Luna chose that moment to come out. She gave him a wan smile. "Good morning, Draco."

"Luna." He inclined his head stiffly.

"I see you brought breakfast. Thank you, but I am ready to get started right away today," Luna stated.

Draco was a little startled. This seemed most unlike Luna. He covered his surprise. "Yes, of course. I brought these for you. Whenever you want them is fine."

"Good. Let's go." Luna led him to their customary places, and Draco sat down. He couldn't help feeling a little lost at the curtness she was showing.

"Luna, you aren't feeling sick, are you?" Draco began to worry a little. Not for her, he told himself, but for his own welfare. If she wasn't up to snuff, then maybe something would go wrong. He couldn't chance it. "We can do this another day, you know."

Luna sighed. "I'm just a little concerned, Draco, to be honest. This next scenario is one that is short, but pivotal. I don't think you will have any problems at all. I will just feel better when it's all over with, that's all."

Draco eyed her. She did look a little tense. Maybe that was it. Luna probably didn't stress out too often; maybe it didn't agree with her. The rest of the sane world just drank a fifth of gin to deal with it, but Draco suspected that Luna wasn't the type. He could see dark purple smudges on the delicate skin under her eyes, and he guessed that she hadn't been sleeping. Well, it was no concern of his if she was dull in her personal life. Not being able to sleep because of your problems was boring, he concluded. He pushed the fact that she wasn't sleeping because of worry over him conveniently out of his mind and picked a piece of lint off of his arm. "Ready when you are."

"Okay," she smiled tiredly, "same as last time, just close your eyes, and you will open them in a situation that needs resolving. Only, in this case, there are several solutions. Think carefully if you want full credit this time, Draco," she warned.

"Yes, I understand," he answered impatiently, closing his eyes. He could do this without help. He'd done the right thing last time, hadn't he? Well, mostly.

Draco opened his eyes to find he was standing on a patch of grass in the sun, in a neighborhood not far from his family home. The sun was shining right in his eyes. He reached out a hand to shade it. There were trees all around him. Ah, now he recognized where he was, in a park! There were kids around, but it wasn't too crowded.

It wasn't immediately obvious what he was supposed to do there. Draco was relieved to feel that he was not starving. He took a step, and the first thing he noticed was that his wand was jammed into the back pocket of his pants. Draco reached back and took it out thoughtfully. He had not used magic in so long a time, he was nearly a Squib! He took a moment to readjust to the feel of the wand in his grip and ran his fingers over the wood. He couldn't decide if it felt good or not. In the end, he just let the well of emotion pool around him and then shoved the wand back in the pocket it had come from.

A cry interrupted his musings, and he looked around. A little girl was standing by the nearest tree, bawling her eyes out. Draco couldn't help but feel bad. He looked around for her mother or an obvious guardian, but the girl seemed alone. Ah, it must be the beginning of the challenge, then. Still, he approached her cautiously.

"Hey, there," he started uncomfortably. He had never been good with kids. "What's wrong?"

"My kitty!" the girl sobbed uncontrollably. She managed to point up. "He's stuck in the tree!"

Draco looked up, and sure enough, up in a monstrously huge oak tree was a tiny black kitten. It saw Draco looking and meowed adorably. Draco scowled. This had Luna written all over it. At least it seemed straightforward. Get the damned kitten out of the damned tree.

Draco sighed. He didn't feel like putting the energy into this. It didn't seem to matter what he wanted, though, because the little girl was crying louder with every passing second. In fact, a crowd was beginning to form. Draco eyed the tree as the girl began to hiccup. It didn't have any obvious hand holds, but he might as well give it a go. Maybe the girl would quit her whining if he did something constructive. She was beginning to get on his nerves.

Draco hitched his pants legs up and tried to find purchase in the gnarled bark. It was old and crumbled the minute his shoes made contact. He circled the base of the tree, an endeavor that seemed to take him a full minute, and though he found a few reasonable knots he might use, there were no branches or anything else that he could use to grab onto. He hadn't been the sportiest child, having been denied tree-climbing privileges on the grounds of the Manor, so he had to give up almost before he began. This was not a tree he could scale.

The kid was really beginning to go supersonic in her grief. Draco looked up and saw the kitten sitting there calmly, way up in the leafy green canopy. He could almost see the twinkle in its beady eyes all the way from where he stood on the ground. "Hey, kid, do you think you might shut up so I could hear myself think for a minute?" he ground out through gritted teeth, the sound of her voice piercing his eardrums.

That only made the crowd gasp, and the little girl wail louder, if possible. Draco groaned. This was a nightmare!

All of a sudden, he realized that he had his wand with him. Ah, perfect! It must have been sent to help him deal with this mess. He whipped it out and pointed it at the wicked little black rat, intending to Accio it and be done with this as elegantly as he could still manage, but at the sight of this action, the little girl became hysterical, shrieking, "Don't shoot my cat! Please!"

Draco looked at her like she was insane. "I'm not going to shoot your cat, kid! I'm going to get it out of the tree for you."

"Please don't shoot her, Mister!" The little girl was so distraught, she threw herself at Draco's feet, crying and hyperventilating.

Draco was nervous and annoyed. Apparently this avenue of retrieval was blocked to him. He lowered his wand. "Fine. I'm not going to hurt your cat, kid. Relax, will you?" He shook his leg, a feeling of disgust overwhelming him. Before she could protest again he shouted, "Accio broom!"

This brought his broomstick flying through the ever-growing crowd just moments later, to shouts of mingled awe and dismay. Draco held out his hand and caught it neatly, then swung one leg over, ready to fly up and get the girl's cat.

The little girl's mouth hung open in pure surprise as she stared up at him. The broomstick maneuver had caught her off-guard, and stopped her tantrum in full swing. "You're a witch?" she asked him tearfully.

Draco grimaced. He raked back his blond hair with one hand, and gave her his most distinguished smile, one he thought might be appropriate for heroes to bestow on little girls while rescuing their kittens, if he were the type. "A wizard, actually."

The little girl's lip trembled, and Draco knew what was coming. "What?" he snapped.

"Don't... don't... steal my kitty!" she pleaded, her eyes full of tears. The assembled crowd ahhhed, and she began to cry again in earnest.

Draco was exasperated. "I don't want your stupid cat!"

"You're a witch, and witches always want black cats!" she wailed.

Draco's lips curled in utter disgust. "Oh, for Merlin's sake." He had had enough of this humiliation. He pushed off the ground and shot into the tree, careful not to clock himself with a thick branch. The kitten saw him coming and didn't even try to escape, just crossed one paw over the other. Draco squeezed a bit harder than he needed to when he picked it off the branch, but it purred the whole way down. Just before he handed it to the girl, he felt the pink tongue dart out and lick his finger. Draco scowled and thrust the cat at the girl.

"Oh, thank you, thank you..." As soon as the kitten left his grasp and was in her hands, Draco saw a flash of light, and he was back in the chair, staring at Luna.

"Well, that one was terrible!" he exclaimed. "I suppose you think I failed, right?"

Luna let out a breath she had been holding. "You got the girl her cat, right?"

Draco wrinkled his brow. "Yeah. So I won?"

Luna was silent for a minute. "It isn't winning or losing, Draco. You know, I once heard someone say, 'Magic without morality is corrupting.'"

"Dumbledore," Draco guessed contemptuously.

"It is true, you know. I've seen it happen. If you have ever been around the Fae, you will know that. I can tell you a tale or two, but really it just twists the mind into a thin ribbon of metal, and then there is nothing left but a ghost of a person. You have seen it, too, Draco," Luna whispered.

Draco knew what she meant, but he was unable to admit it.

"You didn't handle the scenario as well as I had hoped you would. But I was hoping for a lot. Too much. The point of that exercise was nearly inhuman. The girl was so hard to deal with. The ultimate win in that was not the cat, but the comfort." Luna stopped looking at Draco, and picked at a loose thread on her robe, her voice quiet and subdued. "I was hoping that no matter how irritating she was, you would find it in your heart to be kind to her, Draco. A fellow human with a need. She had need of some comfort. Any small amount would have done, and been the unlock. You just couldn't do it, though. You were mean to her." Luna wouldn't look up. "You will never heal, never be the wizard you once were, if you can't find your heart and not be so afraid. I can only lead you so far into the light, Draco. You have to take the steps yourself. I don't want you to be lost."

Draco didn't know what to say. He had been filled with anger, annoyance, lust for admiration, the impatience to be done with the job. He had never stopped to consider that there should be a better motive. His mind just didn't work that way. Shame flooded through him. It wasn't the first time, but it was the first time that he let it, and didn't hide it. He bowed his head.

"Draco," Luna said gently, "You didn't fail, either, you know."

"I can see that I did just wonderfully in trampling everyone's feelings. What is left to me?" Draco said bitterly.

"You had a choice," Luna pointed out. "There were a lot of outcomes to that scenario, you know. You did rescue the cat, after all. You did the right thing. In some outcomes, perhaps the cat doesn't survive. Perhaps the girl doesn't."

Draco looked up at Luna in horror. "How much of a monster do you think I am?"

Luna shrugged. "I don't. You never know the power of the mind, though, Draco. You shouldn't underestimate it. The things I have seen people do." She smiled apologetically. "If I thought you were a monster, I wouldn't be trying to save you. I just know you are capable."

Draco looked at her uneasily. "Small difference."

Luna laughed. "Big difference. We all are capable of a lot of things. It's our intentions that make us who we are, Draco Malfoy, and don't you forget it."

Draco looked at Luna with new eyes. He couldn't decide if she was the craziest person that he knew, or the sanest. Maybe both, at the same time. "What are you capable of, Luna?" he asked her seriously. He was surprised that he'd asked her. He didn't know where it had come from, but all of a sudden, he wanted to know the answer.

Luna looked straight and sure into his eyes. "A miracle, I hope," she answered without hesitation.

Draco didn't think he liked the sound of that.