Entry tags:

100quills, fanfiction, fic: far away as moonshine

FIC: Far Away as Moonshine, 14/28
Title: Far Away as Moonshine, Part II: The Battle of Hogwarts
Author: zephre
Rating: PG-13 (R for whole fic)
Prompt: 100quills table 50.2: Tense
Word Count: 2,104
Summary: For Draco Malfoy, the war was one endless nightmare. Until Luna Lovegood gave him a reason to hope. Can he find his courage, make his luck, and become more than a pawn to those in power?
Warnings: (for whole fic, highlight to view) *mature themes, imprisonment, mention of rape, abuse, battlefield violence, various canon and other character deaths, sexual situations*
Notes: The title is from the song, "Street of Dreams" by Oysterband. Thanks to dianamoon for helping me figure out the Slytherin dialogue.
Chapter Index:
Part I:   1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 ||
Part II:  1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 ||
Part III: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 ||
Epilogue

Chapter 5: In which unexpected alliances are forged. (AKA The Whole Thing Goes Massively AU)



The Great Hall was in chaos, students mingling in confusion, some dressed but others obviously roused from bed. First-years were in tears in some places, and Prefects could be heard shouting for order. Luna's hand slipped from Dean's as they entered; Dean went toward the Gryffindor table.

Luna, though, stopped. She did not mean to, but there seemed to be some disconnect between her feet and her brain. She stopped walking as she reached the gap between the Hufflepuff and Slytherin tables, because sitting not four feet away from her was Draco Malfoy.

He and Blaise Zabini had their heads together, whispering and gesticulating fiercely. Pansy Parkinson sat opposite them and noticed Luna.

"What are you looking at, Lovegood?" Pansy demanded, her voice shrill. Luna heard the fear beneath it, and saw the way Pansy's hands shook even as she tried to keep them clasped and still.

Draco turned, and swung his leg over the bench. He stared at Luna, ignoring the words that Blaise continued to whisper.

Luna's fingers tightened around her new wand. She was not helpless here, and the entire school stood behind her. She felt warmth at her back, in fact, and a glance to her left revealed that Neville had come up beside her.

"Luna?" Neville asked quietly, eyeing the Slytherins warily.

"I'm fine, Neville," she said as she turned back to Draco. 

Blaise had leaned back now, looking sullen, while Millicent Bulstrode and Daphne Greengrass stopped talking to watch.  In fact, most of the Slytherins were now watching Draco. There were scars on his face. They were pale now, pink and white slivers against his skin, but once they must have been darker. They must have been the same ugly crusted purple-black of Luna's own scars, the day that they were etched into her skin. Harry had told them all about the chandelier, when Fleur was treating Hermione.

She stepped nearer the Slytherin table. Draco was close enough that if she lifted her hand, she could touch his face. Her hand did not seem connected to her brain at the moment, either, because there it was reaching for him. "Your face," she murmured, and her fingertips touched the soft stubble on the underside of his jaw.

Draco's hand caught hers, pulling her fingers from his face but holding tight to them. "It's fine," he said quickly, glancing away from Luna, behind her, to where Neville and who knows who else stood.

"What's going on?" Blaise demanded, leaning forward.

Luna did not look away from Draco, but she replied softly, "Harry's here. The Headmaster left." The Slytherins seemed shocked to hear of Professor Snape's departure, and fell quiet, whispering nervously to each other. The Hufflepuff table quieted, also, and behind them the Ravenclaws, as students realized that someone who knew something was speaking.

"We're fighting," Neville added, his voice loud and challenging in the sudden silence that followed Luna's words. Now more than just Slytherin were whispering and fidgeting.

Draco's grip became painfully tight for a moment, as Neville's declaration hit him.

Pansy leaned forward across the table. "Fighting? You're fighting? Are you mad?"

Blaise reached over and put his hand around Pansy's wrist. "Shut up, Pansy," he said, and Draco turned at last from Luna to look at his housemates.

Luna glanced down the table. Other students glared at her, but most of the faces she saw were frightened.

Pansy shook off Blaise's hand. "No, I won't shut up. This is suicide. There's no point! We're in no danger, and my father's out there somewhere!" She took several deep breaths. "The Dark Lord will kill you if you fight him now. He's already won, don't you get it? Don't make him kill everyone."

Luna could not bring herself to match Pansy's anger, but Neville obviously could.

"He hasn't won anything. We're fighting to live," Neville said with a frighteningly even tone of voice. "He'll kill me no matter what, now, pure blood or no. Pure blood didn't save Luna when they took her. Pure blood won't save anyone. For all you know your father's already dead."

Draco tugged very slightly on Luna's hand, and she stepped closer to him. Most of the room's attention was riveted to Neville at this point, so only Blaise noticed.

Millicent tugged at Pansy's robe until Pansy sat down at the table and buried her face in her hands. "We're all doomed," she moaned.

"We've been doomed," Blaise muttered. He gave Neville a long look, then rubbed his temple and looked back at Draco.

Draco laced his fingers through Luna's, and met Blaise's gaze. "My parents are probably dead," he said quietly. "I haven't heard from them since I came back. We're on our own."

Blaise nodded. "Mum's gone again. Nobody to look out for anymore." His eyes flicked from Draco to Neville and then back. He raised one eyebrow in an uncanny imitation of Professor Snape. "You think?"

Draco sneered, making a sweeping motion across the table with his free hand. "Nothing to stop an Unforgivable in the back no matter what we do."

"Better to face your enemies, then," Blaise countered.

"You know them all, do you?" Draco spat back.

"I'm pretty sure I know which ones are going to be pitching Crucios at me for sport!" Blaise's voice got quieter and quieter as they argued, and the Slytherins nearby became equally quiet to try to hear it all. Millicent and Daphne looked back and forth between the two young men with a gravity in their faces that frightened Luna. There was something here that she did not fully understand, but it was important. Luna leaned forward as if to speak, but Neville held her back with a hand on her arm.

Draco's fingers tightened painfully on Luna's as he scowled, first at Blaise and then at Neville. "That cannot happen again," he said.

Blaise huffed impatiently and leaned forward until he was nose to nose with Draco. "Grow a bloody spine and take a stand, then!"

Draco looked absolutely murderous for the split second it took for Blaise to lean back. Then all at once Draco's rage vanished, he took a deep breath, and he nodded to Blaise.  Blaise tilted his head once in acknowledgement.    

Pansy lifted her head as if she sensed what the pause in the conversation meant. "No!" She extended her hand toward Draco, and only then noticed that he was holding Luna's. Pansy pulled back as if burned. "You're not really going to do it! You can't!"

Millicent put her arm around Pansy's shoulders and scowled at Draco.

Draco dismissed Millicent and Pansy with a shrug and visibly steeled himself to meet Neville's eyes. "You say you're going to fight. Will you win?"

It seemed to Luna that the whole Hall held its breath. Neville never faltered. "Of course."

Draco nodded. "Good." He pulled Luna's hand up and kissed her knuckles. "We're with you."

Blaise and even Millicent nodded, although Pansy just put her head down on her arms, shoulders shaking. None of the other seventh years were jumping up to volunteer, but nobody hexed anybody, either. The sudden acquisition of Slytherin allies did give Neville pause, but Luna smilled.

"Good," Luna said, tucking her wand behind her ear. "Four is a good number for defense. Spinning Mingerbs come in fours, you know, and they're quite lucky."

And in that instant the tension broke on a wave of laughter. Luna grinned at Neville, and she felt Draco press another kiss to the back of her hand. It would be all right.

"Settle down in here!" Professor McGonagall shouted from the Head Table. She began explaining the evacuation that would start shortly. Draco tugged Luna down to sit beside him, and Neville sat beside her. Whispers started up again at the back of the room, and they became full-throated cries when Harry entered the Great Hall.

"It's Potter!"

"Harry's back!"

"Potter's alive!"

And then from nowhere and from everywhere at once, a new voice spoke, bringing in its wake sudden, absolute silence.

"I know that you are preparing to fight,"* it said, hard and cold, yet somehow alluring in its very chill. Like the sharp, glittering edge of the knife that is about to cut one's throat, Luna found the voice riveting and terrifying. "Your efforts are futile,"* the voice continued. "You cannot fight me. I do not want to kill you. I have great respect for the teachers of Hogwarts. I do not want to spill magical blood."*

Luna felt Draco shudder beside her, and Pansy's sobs became quiet whimpering as Daphne stroked her classmate's hair. Neville's hand found Luna's, and she held tight to it as she did to Draco's.

"Give me Harry Potter, and they shall not be harmed. Give me Harry Potter and I shall leave the school untouched. Give me Harry Potter and you will be rewarded."* As Voldemort's voice boomed across the hall, people looked toward Harry. Luna watched their faces as they did so, angry, frightened, confused, despairing. Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, Slytherin, and Gryffindor, all looked at Harry in that moment, and in their anger and fear, their confusion and despair, most of them still had room for hope.

"You have until midnight."* When the voice made its last declaration, the silence that followed was like that of a tomb.

Luna barely dared breathe into it.

Then Neville stood up. He, like the majority of the students, looked to Harry. "We're fighting," he said. "We're standing with Harry."
 
Luna stood up, too, and across the Hall every seventh-year Gryffindor leaped up with a cheer. Others began to stand, from every House, and Luna saw that now there were more than just students in the room.  Aurors and others had arrived. Bill and Fleur stood there with the rest of the Weasleys, and several people Luna had seen before but could not name. Remus Lupin and his wife were there, without their son. A tall black Auror Luna did not know began gathering the adults together at the front.

Professor McGonagall smiled from the Head Table, and Luna blinked to see such pride on the normally reserved witch's face. "Very well, Longbottom. Students who are of age may stay.  Everyone else, follow Mr. Filch, please.  Prefects, at your posts!"

Draco stood beside Luna, with Blaise beside him.  Luna was surprised to see that Millicent and Daphne had also stayed. Two sixth-years took Pansy by the arms and led her out, still weeping. Luna felt an overwhelming pity for the other girl, although it was obvious from the expressions on their faces that most of her housemates dismissed her with contempt.

"What about Crabbe and Goyle?" Blaise asked, watching the procession of younger students out the main doors.

Draco shrugged. "What about them?"

"They aren't here. No one has seen them all day." Blaise's words were equally observation and warning.

Draco frowned, releasing Luna's hand at last to check his wand in its arm sheath. "They're dangerous. Keep a look out. Warn the others." He paused for a moment then looked squarely at Blaise, then Daphne, then Millicent. "Be very careful. Lose the House colors."

Luna and Neville watched, Luna with sorrow and Neville with confusion then horrified understanding, as the four Slytherins deliberately ripped House badges from robes and removed ties.

"Right," Draco said, turning back to Neville, his school uniform now neutral. "What now, Longbottom?"

That Draco would defer to Neville now was not surprising to Luna; Neville gaped for a moment.

Luna stepped into the ensuing silence. "We're being given assignments," she said, pointing toward the Auror who was obviously giving orders. "Let's make sure everybody knows who here is on our side."

Neville recovered himself and nodded. "Good. Right. Let's go."

The last of the younger students left the Hall, and the only ones left were fighters. If anyone was surprised to see Draco and the other Slytherins there, they hid it well.  Professor Slughorn took them with him to protect one of the entrances, and Luna found herself assigned to Seamus Finnegan's group on the grounds.

As she turned to find someone on her team, Draco caught her hand, forcing her to turn back. She stared foolishly at him. "Be careful," was all he said, but Luna saw a world of emotion in his eyes. She took a deep, steadying breath and managed to say it back to him without faltering.

She stood there long after he had vanished into the corridors, until Dean found her again and reminded her that they needed her on patrol for Dementors. There was a battle to be won yet.

- - -
*this dialogue quoted directly from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, American edition.


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