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"DO YOU LIKE THE RAIN?"
Magnolia found herself walking towards the astronomy tower at midnight. It wasn't just a casual stroll to look at the stars, or even a late night date with Cedric; she had gotten a letter from her brother.
Meet me in the Astronomy Tower at midnight. There are things I would like to discuss.
Draco
Magnolia wasn't sure what would happen — Draco had been quite mean in the past, but maybe he was turning over a new leaf. Magnolia's footsteps were quiet as she climbed the stairs to the astronomy tower.
When she was younger, her mother had always said Magnolia could sneak up on people easily. Her footsteps were light, and she walked quite gracefully.
"Draco?" She asked from behind him
"Bloody hell, you scared me." He rolled his eyes.
"I've been told I have that affect on people." Magnolia said seriously. Draco rolled his eyes, but sighed.
"As you are now my...sister. I figured getting to know each other couldn't hurt. Just...don't embarrass me."Draco said, smoothing out his robes. Magnolia hummed indifferently.
"Do you like the rain?" Magnolia asked him, staring into the stars.
"I suppose. What does that matter?" He asked.
"I think you can tell a lot about a person based on their likes and dislikes. The rain calms me, but at the same time, when I'm running around in it, I've never felt more alive. Your turn, ask me something while we play a game of exploding snap."
Draco pursed his lips, surprised it was actually easy to talk to her. The whole school viewed her as loony, and Draco supposed that somewhere along the lines, people had connected with being dumb.
"Why did you put your name in the Goblet? Just for fun?" Draco asked, sitting down.
"Truth be told, I wanted to impress my father — or who I believed to be my father. He'd always preferred Luna over me. I thought that if I could win something this big, he'd finally pay attention to me. I've come to realize that I don't care what he thinks." Magnolia answered truthfully. Draco frowned.
"How does all of this make you feel?" She asked.
"Excuse me?" Asked Draco.
"Your world was changed overnight, just as mine was. Has anybody asked you how you feel about this? Have they heard what you've had to say?" Magnolia asked.
It was as if a switch flipped inside of Draco's mind. Magnolia wasn't as bad as he thought.
"Truthfully, no. Father broke the news, and expected me to comprehend everything immediately. Mother has been indifferent. She isn't jealous of your mother, but I don't think she likes to talk about it." Draco answered.
"My father slapped my face and called me a murderer. The night I found out...He blames me for my mother dying." Magnolia confessed.
Draco felt...angry. He felt as though he wanted to protect the girl he had never cared about before.
"I'm...sorry to hear that he did such awful things. I remember father crying around the time your mother died. Said it was a spell backfiring. What would make you a murderer?"
"She was trying to create her own spells. She was taking a break for a while because she felt as if she wasn't making any progress. I begged her to continue. I told her that I believed in her. The spell backfired, and Luna and I watched her die." She spoke numbly. The more she thought about that night, the more she wondered if Xenophilius was right. If Magnolia had just left it alone, her mother would be alive.
"That isn't your fault. You were young, and you wanted to show your mother support." Draco said.
"Yeah, well..."
"This is still a lot to get used to. It's always been just me. However, I know I can be a little...selfish, so I want you to know that I will act as your brother from here on out. I've misjudged you, Magnolia. The entire school has. I'm sorry. Truly."
Magnolia said nothing, but pulled him into an unexpected hug. It took a few seconds, but he hugged her back.
***
"Draco being anything but a prat — are you sure you weren't dreaming?" Gwen asked, sat next to Bea.
"No, he's really trying, Gwen. I can tell."
"Well, I for one, think that's wonderful. I hope you can continue to grow closer to your family." Cedric said, kissing her on the cheek.
"Cedric's right, I'm just not used to this, yet." Gwen smiled. Bea and Hugo nodded in agreement. Magnolia turned to Luna.
"Luna, I want you to know that you will always be my sister. And I hope me spending time with Lucius and Draco does not make you think I'm forgetting about you. I love you, Luna. Always." Luna hugged her sister.
"I love you, Mango."
"So, how does it feel? With the third task growing closer?" Elliot asked, his arm around Gwen.
"Honestly? I'll be glad when it's over. It's been very stressful. I haven't even had time to sit in my favorite tree! It probably misses me..."
Hugo smiled at his friend, glad to see her happy. Things were going good for her. She had all of her friends, Luna and Draco as her siblings, Lucius as a new father figure, and Cedric, who she was in love with. He was also sure she was going to win the tournament, and then the school would finally see what they'd been missing.
"It's times like these that make me never want to grow up. Everything is perfect right now, and I fear that when we graduate, it just won't be the same." Hugo admitted.
"Hey, we'll always have each other, no matter what, okay? It would take a lot more than us graduating to break up this group." Bea told him.
Magnolia was happy. Happier than she'd been in a while. With Xenophilius out of her life, she no longer had to carry the burden of knowing her father didn't love her. Because now, Lucius Malfoy was her father — and he loved and accepted her for her.
