enchanted • draco malfoy

Year 7: Malfoy Manor

Felicity's POV

We left to see Xenophilius Lovegood the next day. His house was less than a mile away from the Weasleys, and I could tell Ron was very aware of this fact as well.

"Hey," I told him quietly while Harry was muttering to Hermione, "We'll see them soon." I smiled, empathetic. He sent me a close-lipped smile back as we crested the final hill and the strange, tilted house revealed itself.

"Luna," Ron breathed. He said it as if he meant to say, Yes, Luna growing up here explains a lot. Or perhaps he was simply excited to see our eccentric, loveable friend. Either way, Harry, Hermione, and I echoed back, "Luna."

As we approached the unstable looking house, Ron read aloud, "Keep off the dirigible plums." I glanced at the sign he was reading from, seeing said plums floating up from the bush.

There was a metal owl's head protruding from the door, and above it was a tarnished gold plaque that said The Quibbler and underneath it, Editor X Lovegood.

I stood next to Hermione as she knocked on the door, Ron a step below us and Harry a step below him. A familiar man with long, tangled white hair answered the door. "What is it? What do you want?" he asked in an unfriendly manner. I was taken aback by his lack of pleasantries, and I could tell Hermione was as well, because neither of us immediately answered.

"Hello, Mr. Lovegood," Harry spoke up from the back, "I'm Harry Potter. We met a few months ago." He jumped up the few remaining steps, standing nearest to Xenophilius now, whose posture had changed slightly. "Can we come in?" Harry asked.

He welcomed us in, leading us to the living room before murmuring about tea and slipping off to the kitchen. He returned quickly, 5 cups of tea balanced on a platter. He handed one to each of us; the smell wafting up from it convinced me not to try any.

The five of us sat in awkward silence. Finally, Hermione broke it. "Where's Luna?" she inquired. Xenophilius looked surprised, as if she had reminded him he had a daughter. "Luna? Oh, she'll be along," he replied.

I looked around again, trying not to judge all the strange objects around the house. We all lifted our cups to our lips in unison. Although where I didn't swallow any, I could tell that Harry, Ron, and Hermione did, judging by their predictably foul expressions.

"Mr. Lovegood," I began, "We actually came here to ask you something. It's about this symbol, a pendant you were wearing?" I looked to Harry for confirmation. "Yes," Harry agreed, "At Bill and Fleur's wedding."

Mr. Lovegood set down his tea, his hand going for a necklace hanging down to his chest. He held up the chain and sure enough, dangling at the end, was that same symbol. "Yes," Harry said eagerly, "That exactly. What we've wondered is, what is it?"

Again, Xenophilius seemed surprised by a fairly straightforward question. "What is it?" he asked, bewildered in an exhausted sounding way. "Well, it's the sign of the Deathly Hallows, of course."

I sat forward, abandoning my tea on the two-legged table near me. "The what?" the four of us asked in sync. "The Deathly Hallows," Mr. Lovegood responded, rather unhelpfully before elaborating. "I assume you're all familiar with 'The Tale of the Three Brothers.'"

"Yes," Ron, Hermione, and I said, at the same time that Harry said, "No." He turned to glance back at us, confused. "I have it in here," Hermione added, reaching into her bag. She withdrew the book Dumbledore had gifted her and began reading.

"There were once three brothers, who were traveling along a lonely, winding road at twilight," she began.

"Midnight," Ron interjected, "Mom always said midnight." Hermione turned slowly, her glare aimed to kill. "But twilight's fine," Ron said quickly, backtracking, "Better, actually."