Under the Willow Tree | Draco Malfoy

chapter 31: delusional losers

Lorelei Jones | 4th Year

Hagrid was bloody and bruised when Luna and Lorelei met up with him that evening. Luna was shocked by it for a moment, but she soon settled into her usual seat and chattered on about creatures Lorelei had never heard of before. From the tight expressions on Hagrid's face, Lorelei wondered if maybe he had never heard of some of these creatures either.

However, Lorelei didn't settle into her usual routine that day. She scoured all the cupboards and shelves until she spotted a dusty rag on top of a tall stack of books that was way over her head, but she managed to snatch it after she jumped a couple times and swung her hand towards it.

After smiling victoriously, Lorelei thoroughly cleaned this rag, and she wet it down with some warm water. So, while Luna and Hagrid spoke of nargles — which Lorelei knew extensively about — and other confusing creatures, Lorelei gently dabbed at Hagrid's blood-covered wounds. She didn't ask how he got such wounds, for she was just happy to feel helpful. She could clean his cuts for him, even if she couldn't do anything about what had caused them.

"Well, uh, you girls got yer second soulmate letters, didn't you? What was it this year? Their Hogwarts house?" Hagrid asked once Luna stopped discussing nargles with the confused gamekeeper.

"Their blood status," Lorelei quietly corrected as she dabbed away the last of the blood on Hagrid's arm and put the rag in the sink.

"My soulmate is a half-blood," Luna hummed while she lifted one of the heavy books Hagrid kept in his hut into her lap for some light reading.

"Mine is a pureblood," Lorelei said and stared down at her feet once Hagrid looked at her.

"Oi, well, that's mighty good, hm? I'm sure you'll get a soulmate just as kind as you, Lorelei. The universe wouldn't want it any other way," Hagrid said, but he watched as a thought passed over her face with an accompanying horror.

"Um, I...I'm sorry I've got to go back to the dorm, I just-"

"Thank you for having us, Hagrid. We'll be back in a few days," Luna said as she led Lorelei to the door.

Once the two girls made it away from Hagrid's hut, Luna hummed, "You're worried about your soulmate. That they aren't kind."

Lorelei was too scared to confirm this observation, but she didn't need to.

"So you think you know who your soulmate is, then?"

Lorelei stopped in her tracks and looked at Luna's watchful expression, which had one eyebrow lifted slightly.

"I-I might," Lorelei admitted with a cold feeling settling over her, but something in her stomach was still flipping at the thought. "But I'm scared that he...that he isn't good. I'm just confused."

"May I make a guess as to who you suspect it is?"

Lorelei's heart seized in her chest, and she avoided Luna's gaze as she nodded. Luna hummed happily and said, "You think your soulmate is Draco Malfoy."

Lorelei choked, but she didn't deny this claim. Luna was right, as always, and Lorelei had no idea what to say about this most recent observation. If her suspicions were correct, her soulmate was one of the least kind people she had ever met, yet somehow, he still gave her butterflies whenever she caught him stealing glances at her. How twisted was that?

"We cannot control who our souls are tied to, Lorelei," Luna said as they climbed the hill back up to the school. "We can only make the most of what we are given."

—

Lorelei wanted some time to think about all of this when she returned to her dorm, but she was not granted that wish.