Petite Étoile → Luna Lovegood

Wig Fiasco and Rumors

Often Étoile would spend her hours in silence, away from the magnitude that the castle brought to the occupants. Lily was often by her side, but sometimes when she had to visit the Owlery to send off a message, or was busy talking to some of the other students — whether it was taunting some innocent first years or conversing with other Slytherins — Étoile would simply remain in an unoccupied space far away from the main areas of the castle, engrossing herself in literature for the time being.

It never took Lily long to come back, but when she did, Étoile would only hear the constant mumbles of complaints for the remainder of the hour.

Étoile leafed through some pages, her eyes blinking momentarily from the strain she was putting on them under the harsh light. "And guess what?" Lily was saying, her voice becoming somewhat distorted, "Over the summer Mum was thinking about bringing bringing you to Greece. I was so thrilled when I heard the news — I hope you won't be busy then. I wasn't sure if you had anything planned—"

Étoile nodded her head mutely, and Lily continued on ranting, her eyes becoming wild with excitement. "OH, I do hope your mum would be lenient; I'm sure she will let you though, she's great friends with my aunt; it would be the perfect distraction too. You know about Sirius Black? They have yet to catch him — what if he never gets caught? Not that I'm worried — well, actually, I suppose I am. But I'm not that worried..." It was after a few minutes that Lily paused, surveying Étoile worriedly. "You look faint," Lily commented. "Are you ill?"

Étoile smiled faintly, "Of course I'm not ill." She stood up to prove her point, but a sudden wave of dizziness overcame her. She promptly sat back down. "You know what I could use right now?"

"What?" Lily questioned, confused.

"Some chocolate," Étoile said. She sat up straighter, willing her eyes to concentrate on the girl before her. "Milk chocolate, preferably. I would normally say dark chocolate but I think my blood sugar is low."

Lily nodded, "Okay, chocolate. Anything else?" Étoile shook her head, and Lily sped off resolutely.

Étoile did not have to wait long before Lily purposefully walked back, holding chocolate in a bright, silver wrapper. Promptly, Lily handed her the chocolate and sat down next to Étoile. "Do you need to go to the Hospital Wing?" Lily asked, her brow knitted in concern.

Étoile made a strange motion, finished the chocolate, and crumpled the wrapper into a ball. "No," Étoile began, and she gave Lily a look to show how serious she was about it. "I feel better now, I just needed something to eat."

"Are you distressed about Sirius Black?" Lily said, sounding apologetic. "I shouldn't have brought him up earlier—"

"'Are you distressed about Sirius Black?'" Étoile said mockingly, "Why are you all of a sudden being nice?" Although she was mostly joking, Lily didn't seem to be in a laughing mood, "And I thought being ill once a month was enough, but that didn't seem to stop you."

"I wasn't ill." Étoile rolled her eyes. "I'm just tired — and stressed. Haven't had a proper night of sleep in a while."

"I can tell," Lily snorted. She made a show of putting her face right next to her, and pointed to the purple bags underneath Étoile's eyes.

Étoile scowled and batted her friend's face away. After a few minutes she sighed, putting her History of Magic book down and turning to face Lily. Lily — who was previously counting the clouds in the sky — turned to her hopefully.

Étoile gave a strained smile. "Do you know anything about Sirius Black?"

Lily did not seem to be expecting this question. "Do I know anything about Sirius Black? That he's a Gryffindor?"

Étoile blinked. "That he's a Gryffindor? Not that he's a mass murderer?"

"Oh, that too," Lily shrugged nonchalantly.

Étoile gave her a strange look. "Good to see your priorities are in check."

"Being a mass murderer is arguably the lesser of the two evils," Lily said. "Anyways, why the sudden interest? You said you weren't worried about the situation." Lily squinted her eyes, "Unless you were lying to appear more brave..." All of a sudden, Lily let out the most strangled, horrified cry, and Étoile covered her ears, a stray tear leaving her eye from the horrifying noise.

"I can't believe it!" Lily began to cry. She pointed a finger accusingly at Étoile. "You're— you're a Gryffindor!"

"What are you even saying?" Étoile stared at Lily, "Of course I'm not a Gryffindor! Why would you ever even accuse me of something like that? And why is your reaction so much worse than when I told you I was a werewolf?"

"Because, because," Lily was shaking her head profusely. "A Gryffindor is the epitome of PURE EVIL! At least werewolves are human beneath all their... fur."

"Whoa, thanks," Étoile mumbled sarcastically.

"I'm just saying." Lily shrugged nonchalantly. "Any who, what else... Oh yeah! He's a mass murderer!"

Étoile shook her head, laughing slightly. Lily seemed to be wracking her brains for any other information he could gather on him. "Sirius' brother — Regulus, I think his name is — was best buds with your dad, but you already knew that. That's something, I guess. OH, also — between us — I believe there to be a very good chance that his gorgeous black locks that everyone used to be envious of... are, well, fake. I know, this is very surprising, but if you have seen the photograph of him in Azkaban, his hair is all matted. And yes, of course that would be bound to happen, but how can hair so... wonderful in every way imaginable turn into such a mess. It's quite impossible. Via my deduction, it is evident that—"

Étoile covered her ears and groaned, "Just. Stop. Talking."

Lily smiled wryly. "Consider it your lucky day." 

"Anyways," Étoile said, scrunching her brows, "other than his apparent wig fiasco, do you, personally, believe that," Étoile made a show of looking around her, and Lily raised an amused brow at her mannerism, "that he could be lurking within the castle's grounds. There's been rumor..." 

"It's possible," Lily simply said.

Étoile rolled her eyes. "Well yeah, I knew that much." 

Now it was Lily's turn to roll her eyes. "Okay, personally I don't kind it in my best interest to worry too much about this angsty-Gryffindor-serial-killer, because I find it cliché and everything, but if this goes anyway like your typical cliché murderer story then I would assume that the only person that should worry is Potter, because well — everything happens to him. As long as we stay out of his and his friend group's weird business I don't see how anything could go possibly wrong."

"You were talking about clichés," Étoile offhandedly mentioned.

Lily nodded. "Yes?"

"Then you should know never to say 'I don't see how anything could go possibly wrong'."

Lily frowned, before chuckling nervously. "I mean: I don't see how anything could go possibly right!"

Étoile slapped a hand to her forehead. "Are you serious?"

"Well no, actually I'm—"

Étoile let out an agonizingly slow sigh.

 "—Lily."

This was going to be a long year.