Under the Willow Tree | Draco Malfoy

chapter 50: did he do that to you?

Lorelei Jones | 5th Year

"Hello, Lorelei," Luna said quietly as she fed one of the young thestrals with some of the meat from Hagrid's hut. She briefly met Lorelei's eyes before turning her gaze back down to the creature at her feet.

"Hi," Lorelei said as she stepped up beside Luna and plucked a chunk of meat from the bin. She tossed it across the grassy clearing to the group of hungry thestrals standing about.

"You have been very busy lately," Luna mused in her dazed voice. Her flaxen-colored hair had grown long now, dripping over her shoulders and down her back a flurry of frizzy, windswept strands.

"Yeah. You have too. I'm really glad to see you've made so many new friends. You seem much more comfortable around them lately," Lorelei said while stretching onto her tiptoes to toss a hunk of meat over the heads of the thestrals she just fed. The skeletal horses in that area all scrambled and fought over the meat until that too was gone. They turned back to Luna and Lorelei. They reminded Lorelei of puppies begging for another treat.

"I saw the Slytherins have been eating with you lately," Luna murmured in a light voice. Her eyes were glassy and round as she stared up at the sloping brands overhead. "One of the Slytherins has been eating with the Gryffindors as well... It seems that you and Briar Davies are dissolving some of these inter-house prejudices."

"I think that's good then. We're all just human beings," Lorelei said and rinsed her hands under the makeshift sink Hagrid had fashioned in the forest for them. It was really just a hose hung on a little peg sticking out of the ground with a tub of soap the size of Lorelei's head beside it, but she was grateful for the chance to clean her hands after touching the raw meat.

"I agree. All of those silly rivalries are exhausting," Luna giggled and met Luna's eyes with a sweet smile crinkling the corners of her eyes. Lorelei had missed those smiles.

Lorelei dried off her hands on the back of her jeans and returned Luna's smile. She stepped back as Luna washed her hands, but it was clear to both girls that they wouldn't be leaving just yet.

Lorelei settled onto the trunk of a tree that had apparently been chopped down, although from the singe marks around the base of it, Lorelei figured it wasn't a typical chopping. Luna sat down beside her on the huge trunk, and they both stayed quiet for a few moments until Lorelei swallowed her nerves and allowed herself to confide in her best friend again.

"He's my soulmate, Luna. He's hurt me before, but he didn't mean to," Lorelei confessed and plucked at the dull flowers that hadn't died yet in the autumn chill.

Luna skimmed her fingers over Lorelei's jaw. This made Lorelei jolt at the unexpected touch. Luna's voice was heavy yet quiet as she asked, "These bruises... Did he do that to you?"

Lorelei touched her own jaw then, disappointed that the greenish purple color was still there in the shape of fingertips on either side of her jaw. Even if Crabbe and Goyle were gone now, her chest ached at the realization that someone else hurt her like this. Her eyes glossed over, but she didn't cry.

"No. Crabbe and Goyle hurt Neville Longbottom in third year, and I foolishly confronted them... They hurt me too," Lorelei said. Her voice was thick with unused emotion, and Luna's soft hand grabbing hers was the comfort she needed in that moment. It was the reminder that she wasn't alone, and that what happened to her wasn't okay.

"Draco and Theo Nott saved me."

"They seem like spectacular friends then," Luna hummed as she began to carefully weave Lorelei's blonde hair into a braid. She had always loved to style Lorelei's hair into a loose "French braid" after learning that Lorelei was half French.

Lorelei relaxed at the familiarity of Luna's old habit resurfacing. Things felt okay, maybe even somewhat normal again, and she needed that. After everything with Draco last year, her life had tilted off its axel, and she couldn't stand how backwards things had become with Luna.

Now, they sat in the quiet together. Luna braided Lorelei's hair while they watched the thestrals happily prance around the green-grounded forest in front of them. There was a crisp chill in the autumn air, and the smell of fall surrounded them. It was an earthy yet also fresh scent, and Lorelei drank it in. This felt right.

"I've made something for your friends," Luna said once she finished Lorelei's hair. She reached into the pocket of her robes and tugged out three matching cork necklaces. "I couldn't sit idly by while they remained unprotected from the nargles. I need to make all of them some spectrespecs as well. It would be an awful shame if their heads got infested with wrackspurts."

Lorelei took the necklaces from Luna, and her eyes glossed over again, but this time, tears fell. She slung her arms around Luna and murmured her appreciation over and over until Luna pushed Lorelei away while giggling.

"Oh, the dark blue string will be perfect for Theo. That's his favorite color actually. The green! Draco acts like his favorite color is pink, but I think it's actually a very dark green," Lorelei gushed as she turned the jewelry over in her hands and beamed wildly at her best friend. Even if the others didn't understand this gift, Lorelei was entirely touched at the gesture.

Luna was trying.

"The black will be good for Pansy Parkinson. She tends to wear a lot of the color," Luna added with a slight smile.

Lorelei nodded and drew Luna in for another crushing hug. Luna softly laughed the entire time, but she too enjoyed this flashback to the past when their friendship was all they had.

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