Please Be There If I Remember

Chapter Thirty-Eight: Falling

A/n: So guess who caught the flu and hopefully not Covid on the day of my friend's birthday celebration :D And guess who also got a job for once in her life, that's right, I did. Honestly terrified, but here is a chapter despite all of that. Life is truly hectic <3

Draco went to the Great Hall for supper after his meeting with Umbridge, and something in his body seemed to physically lighten as he saw Harry sitting with his friends at the Gryffindor table looking alright—although more than a little pissed and quite downtrodden.

His shoulders visibly relaxed, and he sat next to Luna as he usually did now. However, this time when he sat down, he didn't grab a plate but instead whispered into her ear, glancing around at the staff table for any sign of clashing pink. When he didn't see any, ignoring another bout of relief, he stood back up and strode over to the Slytherin table with a certain Ravenclaw at his heels.

"Good evening, Blaise," Draco said, sitting down beside his friend as eyes from all around the hall traced his every movement. "This is Luna. I hope you two can get along," he added with a sharp, hardened stare at his eyes. Blaise surveyed Luna, shrugged, and turned back to his food.

"You know everyone's going to have a fit, right?" The boy said easily, bringing his fork to his mouth and eating the food off of it.

"They've had their fun talking about it. I don't really care anymore." Draco declared just as nonchalantly, giving his own plate to Luna's and stealing Pansy's from her empty spot since she had yet to arrive at the Great Hall.

"Umbridge is going to kill you," Blaise said dangerously, staring at a different empty seat—the one in the centre of the staff table. "I'm actually surprised she hasn't yet," he remarked again with a particularly nasty look at her spot in the Headmaster's seat.

"Wow, Blaise, keep talking and I might think you actually care."

The boy rolled his eyes with a smirk. "Like that would ever happen," he answered as if he hadn't been sending Draco worried glances ever since he had the meeting with her.

"Don't worry," Luna piped up from where she was happily chewing on some unknown food that Draco had been positive wasn't on the table before she sat down. "Her head is so full of Wrackspurts that I'm surprised she even remembers Draco's name. I wouldn't have been worried if I were you."

Blaise gave her an odd look and Draco just shook his head as if to say don't worry about it.

Pansy and Theo decided to enter at that moment, and Pansy took one look at Luna's bright hair before storming up to the table.

"Draco," she hissed, sitting down. "What is she doing here?"

"Hi, I'm Luna. Nice to meet you," Luna said, much to the growing amusement of Draco. He sobered up when Pansy glared at him.

"Draco, what did we literally just talk about a few days ago. She needs to leave."

"Luna's not going anywhere," Draco spoke harshly. "I don't care what the rest of the house or the school thinks. I'm not letting her sit at the Ravenclaw table alone."

"You literally just got free from Umbridge, don't push it, or else she's not going to let you go as easily this time."

"Umbridge may think she can control what I do," Draco stated, and Theo watched everything from where he was sitting beside Pansy. "But Luna just decided to sit here. She can't blame me for not hexing someone for sitting here," he added with a roll of his eyes.

"Yes," Pansy scoffed, "she can. You're not invincible, Draco. Get your head out of your arse and stop pretending that you are. It's going to get you hurt."