The Darkwood Wand

Revelry, Part Two

"Hermione, how could you?"

"You danced with Malfoy!"

"He forced her!"

"He Imperiused her!"

"Did you drink something he gave you, Hermione?"

Hermione's friends crowded around her, looking shocked and hurt, and Hermione couldn't blame them. A week ago she would have felt the same.

"She's not speaking."

"She looks pale."

"Sit down, Hermione, that must have been an ordeal."

Hermione huffed back at them. "It wasn't an ordeal, it was just a dance. We're Divination partners."

Everyone looked at her skeptically, then the chattering started up again.

"He's scheming with that Durmstrang creep!"

"He's a Death Eater!"

"He is not a Death Eater." Luna's voice was so sweet and calm that it easily cut through the uproar.

"He took the Mark!"

"He killed Dumbledore!"

"Malfoy did not kill Dumbledore!" Hermione snapped. "He hasn't killed anyone!"

"That you know of ..."

"How did he even get in here?"

"I invited him." Luna smiled at the Gryffindors surrounding Hermione. The rest of the partygoers formed an outer ring, most scribbling furiously on bits of parchment.

"Draco has been very pleasant to me," Luna went on. "He's going to look for my wand in the Malfoy dungeons when he goes home for the holidays."

Hermione stared along with everybody else: She didn't know Luna had been talking to Malfoy.

"That's very nice, Luna," Neville said carefully, "but Malfoy is a Slytherin, and he's likely using both you and Hermione."

"Surely we're the best judge of that," Hermione said, trying to match Luna's calm. "It was just a friendly dance."

Pavarti Patil snickered. "Friendly. That looked more than friendly."

The murmurs around Hermione rose.

"Did you see his face?"

"He actually looked human!"

"No!"

"He almost smiled!"

"He didn't!"

"Where's Justin?" asked Ernie Macmillan, who had joined the group. "Justin should have stepped in."

"Are you kidding?" Parvati asked him. "Justin can't step a straight line."

"I've never seen him so drunk!"

"He tried to feel me up!"

"He didn't!"

"Hermione, you need to stay away from Malfoy and—"

"Draco has a very interesting wand," Luna said, apropos of nothing. Hermione sometimes thought Luna must have a Time Turner set to place her 12 seconds ahead in any conversation.

"Dogwood is very particular," the Ravenclaw continued. "It won't work for just anyone."

"Luna," Neville said patiently, "we're glad Malfoy's wand likes him, but that's not quite the character reference we're—"