Cheers, Potter.

I was stupidly excited.

Draco's POV

I'd been neglecting the library as of late, it had been my sanctuary from the ridicule that followed me at the beginning of the year and I hadn't been back in a long while. That is, since I found that it wasn't the only place in the castle that I was welcome.

Wandering down the aisles, not looking for anything particular, I enjoyed the calming, familiar scent of dusty old books and cracking leather. I felt whole in the library. There were so many worlds, so much knowledge, so much life stacked atop these shelves; it was both daunting and breathtaking.

"Hello," came a pleasantly memorable voice, pulling me from my daydream.

"Luna," I smiled, glad of her presence. She, like the books, was somehow an equally imposing and endearing person to be around, "how are you?"

"Oh, you know," she lilted, gesturing vaguely around her, whether enthusiastically or disinterestedly, it was difficult to tell, "how have you been?" she asked.

My mind instantly fluttered back to the way I'd spent my last several months, either in Harry's bed, on the sofa in the empty common rooms or in an abandoned cupboard. But I wasn't about to discuss my more devious activities with the charmingly innocent girl before me so I simply said, "fairly well."

"Hmm," she seemed to be thinking, which was bad news for my less than creative way of avoiding her question, "Have you seen Blaise recently?" she seemed to move on almost immediately.

"I– no," I replied, expecting to need to defend myself, "I haven't, do you need him for something?" I asked, genuinely curious. I'd never really seen them together before and it seemed odd that she'd be looking for him.

"Oh, nothing important," she didn't seem sure.

It went silent for a moment; I didn't know what to say and Luna clearly had no qualms with the quiet. She looked distant and serene and it wasn't until she handed me a book that I realised she'd been scanning the shelves.

"Here," she smiled, the book gliding over to me as she flourished her wand, "you'll be needing this," she said, not hesitating to give me time to react before sauntering off down another aisle.

I read the title of the book she'd given me, horror-stricken.

It read: Measures for Keeping Clandestine that Which one Wishes to Remain Undisclosed.

A book for keeping secrets.

~Ж~

At dinner, I eyed my friend suspiciously. Blaise and Connie had their heads bowed together and were whispering to one another, I more than likely would have said something had Cyrus not been ranting at me about his parents not letting him go to see the Weird Sisters. I was trying to pay attention, I really was, but when I accidentally caught the eyes of one Harry James Potter, my breathing hitched and I forgot how to function. I had to look away immediately for fear of somehow outing our relationship to the entire school.

I was probably on edge due to the residual shockwaves of Luna giving me that book. Was she trying to make a point, or was she being genuinely helpful? And if she was, did that mean she was in the know about my relationship with Harry? Would she keep it to herself? If not, why hadn't she told anyone yet? Or had she? My head was spinning.

"...and they said that I had to stop setting fire to things if I wanted to go!" I tuned back into Cyrus's rage, "It's not like I do it deliberately!" he finished.

"Have you ever spoken to Seamus Finnegan?" I questioned, trying to keep a grin off my face, "I think you'd get along swimmingly."

My attention snapped back to Blaise and Connie, the latter of whom had barked a laugh that took even her by surprise. I looked at her quizzically and in response, she clapped a hand over her mouth and returned to her conversation with my other friend, sparing me the odd glance which, knowing her, meant that trouble was abound...

~Ж~

I sat in my armchair in the common room, pretending to read while watching the excruciatingly long minutes tick by.

Ten p.m., I thought, not too much longer.

I returned to not reading. Slowly, my housemates began to retire to their dorms, nodding a silent goodnight. Slytherins skulked, wandered and strolled off to bed, one at a time, some sneaking into each other's dorms. I politely pretended not to notice. After all, who was I to judge?

I peeked back at the grandfather clock that stood perennial next to the fireplace; six minutes past. Surely it had been at least fifteen!

As a final resort, I put away my large Potions volume and summoned the book Luna had given me earlier, hoping it would garner more of my attention so that time would pass a little faster.

It wasn't an especially large book, nor was it very old judging by it's condition. Curiosity took over and I looked between the pages.

It was filled with spells that would, indeed, be useful in secret keeping; a lip-locking charm (that was far less loving than it sounded and, in actuality, clasped a victims mouth shut if they ever tried to discuss a certain topic), an enchantment to place on documents that would make them self-destruct if anyone but the writer attempted to read them. It was full of an equal number of reasonable and unreasonable, achievable and unfathomable ways to keep things covert.

And before I knew it, the common room was empty and it was finally time for me to head to the Astronomy Tower where hopefully, a certain mop-headed fool would be waiting for me.

I was stupidly excited about that part.

~Ω~

Hey all, quick question:

Out of curiosity, after I've finished this story, I'm planning on writing a series of long one-shots about different ships from different stories. Is that something you lot would be interested in reading at all?

(Some of the stories I have outlined so far are Merthur [Merlin and Arthur from BBC Merlin], Percabeth [Percy and Annabeth from PJO], Pynch [Adam and Ronan from the Raven Cycle],  Linny [Luna and Ginny from Harry Potter], Andreil and Renallison [Andrew and Neil, and Renee and Allison from All for the Game]).

Ta for all the love you sweet little creatures! ~Em