A Personal Snowflake

The snow was lazily descending from the sky. It consisted of translucent white snowflakes swaying gently in the wind, discovering their desired ways of going down by switching in between the gusts. A number of minuscule white particles dropped down onto the ground, several of those graceful dancers toppling over the rooftops, trees, street lamps or cars. Those undersized see-through ladies landed even on people, who were hurrying to work, school or a date.

The icy-blonde haired man snorted to himself quietly, his glove-covered hands angrily snug into his coat’s pockets, his face showing disdain and discontentment under the tightly layered huge scarf. He despised winter because of its bone-chilling wind and impossible to withstand cold. Not even the warming charm helped to fight the chill. However, Draco had to admit there was one thing he somewhat didn't mind.

Watching snow.

The man admired the way such seemingly microscopic nature creations like snowflakes managed to turn the city into a mass of white. Malfoy recalled how back at Hogwarts Crabbe and Goyle tried to catch the snowflakes with their tongues, usually resulting in the blonde boy feeling second-hand embarrassment or giving them a deadpan look. Even till this day, he would sometimes wonder how come his Pureblood friends were so much more stupid than most of the Mudbloods.

Then there was another reason why winter was not a completely despicable season. However, he would never reveal this reason to other people. An actual human snowflake had her fingers wrapped around his heart and Draco found it hard to work at the Ministry of Magic at the wee hours with so much work piled up without missing her dearly. His co-workers, especially that insufferable know-it-all Mudblood, have been speculating of him having a girlfriend, and they were very close to the truth.

Yes, Malfoy's status was not under the Single category. However, the person he currently was with never asked him to define their...involvement with each other.

Luna. Luna Lovegood was her name.

Draco was still confused about how 'Loony' managed to wiggle her way into his heart, but she did. The man somewhat liked how their hook up was evolving into something so much more honest and defined, yet he did not have the needed courage to speak about it.

“Your father loves you, Draco. In his own way, of course.” After witnessing a confrontation between him and his father Luna approached him and cocked her head to one side, her eyes glittering in this gentle and relaxed manner. She was a little on the weird side, he wanted to push her away or say some nasty remark, but for some reason, the younger Malfoy couldn’t. Somehow the blonde female’s presence has calmed him considerably and he just nodded his head, letting her keep him company quietly, as they stood by the Black Lake.

“Nargles can be very nasty creatures, if not taken care of.” She said, noticing him scratch the itching forearm, where the Dark Mark was forever etched into his skin. Lord Voldemort was forever gone from this world, and yet there were still things that still reminded of him every day. Draco wasn’t sure if he was supposed to get mad at her for pretending not to know the source for his itching arm, or to be thankful of not bringing up the painful memories of the past. He felt warm fingertips sneak under his shirt and to his shock a soothing gentle caress smoothed over the mark, making the man feel something stuck in his throat. No one has ever done something like this to him, so subtle, yet so comforting.

“Lovegood.” This time Draco sought her out. It was a particularly tough day for him, what with the Dark Mark burning like crazy thanks to the nightmares he had for two weeks and with his works at the Ministry piling up at an impossible speed. He waited for her until she finished her job at St Mungo’s and called out to her from the darker corner as if scared someone might see him talking to her. What made him feel weird was a joyful twinkle in Luna’s eyes and how her shoulders lost the visible tension in them, probably from the likewise hard day. And then, when her arms wrapped around his waist as she hugged him, he lost it, burying his face in her hair and relaxing completely.

He scratched his forearm and picked up the pace, turning around the corner and entering through the huge gate. The blonde-haired man passed a long tunnel of overgrown gardens and countless ponds, entering an enchanted sunny valley with a small cozy house. The air was filled with some unusual sparkling dust and he could see the doors to the greenhouse slightly ajar.

Draco stalked straight to the huge glass building, thinking how weird it was their own house was smaller than the house for Mandrakes and other horrible yet useful plants. He stopped and leaned his form by the door-frame, watching the blonde-haired female stop pulling onto the Mandrake and turning to him with a twinkle in her eyes.

"Draco." Luna piped with her angelic voice and removed her earmuffs. "You're back early."

The man pushed himself off of a doorway and stepped close to the petite woman, leaning in to steal a kiss, then watching a tinge of pink spread across her cheeks. It never ceased to amaze him how even the smallest of actions always drew a reaction from her. Usually, in front of other people, Luna was in her own world, aloof, calm and controlled. But in front of him, the woman was more reactive and adorable, still a little bit off the charts, if someone asked him, but that was her charm point.

Luna cast a quick glance at the clock that was hanging in the greenhouse and then back at him.

"It's Christmas soon, I completely forgot about that. Do you want to celebrate..with me?"

"I would be stupid to leave you alone at such a special time," Malfoy grunted out. "You probably forgot to eat because of these annoying screaming little villains."

How did she always manage to come up with these weird ideas of him leaving her alone, he could never understand such miserable inquiries.

Luna looked at the pots with Mandrakes, then back at Draco and tilted her head, smiling with her eyes closed.

"Hermione must have tickled your angry bone. Let me shoo those Wrackspurts out of your head."

The man never knew how she managed it, but soon they both were at the house, him seated on the comfortable armchair by the fireplace, facing the decorated Christmas tree. Luna was not only a skilled Healer or Herbologist but also her hands, especially fingers, did wonders to his sore neck and shoulders. Draco relaxed, sinking into the soft armchair, casting a weak glare towards the enchanted Christmas lights, that seemed to disturb his peace with their bedazzling sparks in all directions. He pulled out his wand and made sure the room was left in the dimly lit darkness, the only source of light being some candles and gently glittering snow globes.

Malfoy grabbed onto Luna's arm, pulling her onto his lap and embracing her somewhat too roughly, not saying a word, just closing his eyes. As the clock ticked twelve, he heard a small whisper and responded with a kiss to the female's temple.

"Merry Christmas, Draco."