The Stars That Lie (Druna ☾)

Chapter 14

Luna thought they were going to a cabin.

However, the Malfoy's recreational home was anything but rustic.

Apparting into a little clearing of forest with Draco, she openly gaped, craning her head back to look at the old growth hemlocks, pines, and oak trees growing together so thick that she wasn't sure a rabbit could make it through the barrier around them. A miniature version of the Malfoy mansion sat cold and empty in one corner of the clearing, complete with pillars, bay windows, and most notably, an observation turret.

"This... This is your family's cabin?" she asked breathlessly.

Draco was already marching ahead, leaving her to gawk at the scenery. He could have been more cruel and stern, warning her not to go running off, but Luna had seen the map. There was nowhere to run. Not without a wand. Not without a plan or supplies.

She would have to bide her time before she made her escape.

Running to catch up, Luna followed him in just as he unlocked the front door and pushed into the musty foyer. Other than a thin sheen of dust on all the surfaces, the mini mansion looked untouched by the wilderness growing all around them.

"I'll get your things set up on the turret," Draco intoned, barely speaking over his shoulder to her so he didn't have to look her in the eye. He'd been pointedly avoiding her gaze ever since he came to collect her. "Sunset is in an hour. Pick any room you want."

She wanted to ask about dinner, but he was already stalking up the stairs with the enchanted carpet bag holding all their things—a telescope, star charts, notes, and who knew what else. They'd brought no house elf, so it was on them to set up house. Presumably, she was supposed to set it all up for them as the less important person in this situation, but Draco didn't ask anything from her.

Luna took her time walking through all the rooms on the first floor while Draco readied the observation turret for her. Her legs were still a bit wobbly after months in the basement, so she took her time.

The first room off the foyer appeared to be a dining room with scenic portraits hung in gilded frames and plush green chairs hidden beneath white sheets to keep them clean. Across the foyer hall was a sitting room with views of the forest through tall, spacious bay windows. She could easily see herself spending her evenings here with tea and a book.

If she was even allowed luxuries like tea and a book...

At the back of the house was a massive kitchen boasting three ovens, a pantry as big as her childhood home, and a wine cellar under the runner carpet in the galley.

The last room of note she explored was a sunroom fully encased in glass with trees hanging overhead so one could feel like they were in the middle of the woods without going out into the elements. It sort of defeated the purpose of visiting the mountains, but Luna was entranced. She wanted to live in that room. The daybed was perfect, and she didn't think she needed to explore any further, for she'd already found the best room in the whole house.

Nonetheless, she went upstairs, checking the quaint little bedrooms and confirming that they were all the same with different pastoral portraits and wallpaper for each one. But it was all very sterile. Unlived in. If her and her father had a house like this, every room would be painted a different bright color, with a different theme, and different purpose for each one.

It would have been a house of chaos and fun.

Luna had no belongings to set down and claim a room, so she made a mental note of a room at the end of the hall she would take if Draco didn't permit her to sleep in the sunroom downstairs. Then she wandered to the spiral staircase that continued higher up in the house to the attic and turret.