The Stars That Lie (Druna ☾)

Chapter 7

Christmas was about what Luna expected. Gifts she didn't really want but acted like they were exactly what she wanted. A meager dinner she had to prepare in secret the night before so her father wouldn't get upset that the one he made turned out burnt or nonexistent. Quiet evenings by the fire reading her father's articles. And when she could get away on a clear night... Star gazing.

All the signs stayed the same, but she couldn't help but wonder about Sinistra's idea... That the stars lied. For a purpose.

Luna trained her eyes and telescope to other parts of the heavens that night, searching for other clues. Other prophecies. Other signs that could be overlooked. Something to give her just a little hope that the lie was worth it...

When she returned to the castle for school, she was no closer to figuring out what the stars were really trying to say. Things seemed more hopeless than ever.

Late one day, after she'd missed Potions yet again, Luna was taking a stroll through the halls alone. It was one of her "thinking" strolls. Thinking about the stars, thinking about a book she read over Christmas break, thinking about nothing at all. Just a stroll to clear her rinse her headaches away and wander the castle so she didn't feel idle.

She stopped at the Great Hall for a snack, spotting Draco for the first time since returning to school. Astronomy class hadn't started back up yet, and Draco had yet to visit the tower at their usual haunting hours. Seeing him now though...

He looked quite distraught.

Sunken eyes, wild gaze, shirt sleeves rolled up—he wasn't put together at all, and normally he wouldn't be caught dead without a pressed collar.

He stared straight ahead, rooted in place.

Luna followed his gaze to the other end of the Great Hall, where Harry stood, Katie Bell behind him.

Luna's stomach clenched. Katie Bell returning was just a reminder of her accident. And the accident was a reminder of Harry's insistence that Draco was to blame.

Luna hadn't wanted to believe it, but the way Draco was looking back at them—like a mouse caught in a trap​​—said otherwise.

Draco turned, fleeing the Great Hall a moment later, and Luna breathed again.

What in the world is going on between them?

Harry stormed after Draco, and Luna had no choice then. She lurched to her feet, slipping into the halls to find out what was going on. The air had turned tense, and the prophecies swirling around in her head about looming destruction and chaos were loud warning bells she couldn't ignore.

She lost sight of Harry down one hall, and she had no clue where to turn. Stopping in place, she took deep breaths, quieted her thoughts, and listened.

Her ears trained on birds in the courtyards. Students' voices echoing softly on a bench. Papers rustling.

Then the distinctive snap of a hex being thrown.

She whirled around, going back the way she came. Where the dueling sounded from.

Heart in her throat, hands curled into fists, wand clutched tight in one of them, she came upon the boys' bathroom just as the sound of lobbed curses died down.

Snape flew into the bathroom, black robes billowed out behind him like a shadow, no doubt lured by the sound of rule breaking.

A moment later, Harry flew out of the bathroom, looking rather shaken.

"Harry?" Luna called.

He turned, meeting her eyes, but he didn't really see her. Without any indication of acknowledgement, he turned away and fled for his common room.