Emerson Wilmore was an exemplary Ravenclaw student, known for her unwavering dedication to academics and an unyielding moral compass. However, things took a twisted and deviated turn in her life after her boyfriend, Cedric Diggory, was murdered by L...
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Emerson sat curled on the edge of Mattheo's bed, knees pulled to her chest, watching Blaise after he finished speaking to Luna on the wireless.
The change in him was unmistakable.
Where earlier he was pacing, hands clenched and his eyes glassy with the effort of holding himself together, now he sat cross-legged on the floor next to Draco. His shoulders were loose and his back was no longer rigid with panic. There was colour back in his face. His laughter came easier too. He even laughed once, like he couldn't quite trust that relief was allowed but was letting himself feel it anyway.
"She's alive," Blaise sighed, as if repeating it might make it more real. "Merlin, she's alive."
"Locked up in Malfoy Manor isn't exactly ideal," Enzo commented, leaning against the bedpost of his bed. "But, Luna's strong. She is smarter than half the people who think they're controlling her."
Draco scoffed. "Half?" He muttered. "You're being generous."
Blaise almost didn't even hear them. "She sounded like herself. She wasn't scared or broken. Just... Luna. My Luna. She asked me if I was eating properly. She's the one imprisoned and she's worried about me."
Draco watched him with an expression Emerson rarely saw on his face. "She always was stronger than people gave her credit for."
"Honestly, mate, I don't think even Malfoy Manor could scare Luna Lovegood into changing," Enzo chortled.
Blaise nodded immediately. "Exactly. That's what I keep trying to tell myself." He let out a breath, then added. "But Merlin, Draco. I don't think I could've survived it if—if something happened to her."
The room stilled slightly.
Blaise huffed out a breath that might've been a laugh. He didn't even notice that no one had said anything. "I know she's not safe. I'm not pretending this is fine. But knowing she's breathing and knowing she can hear us, that she knows we haven't forgotten her—,"
His voice faltered for just a second before he steadied it again.
"I couldn't stand it," He admitted. "The idea that something could happen to her without her knowing how I feel. That she could be alone in that place thinking she didn't matter to anyone."
Olivia lifted her head from Theo's shoulder, staring at him curiously. "What do you mean without her know how you feel?"
Blaise swallowed, before he forced himself to relax again. "That I love her and it wasn't just friendship. Or admiration. Or whatever excuse I kept telling myself."
Emerson's chest tightened. Blaise loved Luna. She was happy for him. Seeing Blaise like this, still shaken but no longer shattered, felt like watching someone surface after being held underwater too long.
