Broken Mirrors [A DRACO MALFOY FANFIC]

VII. THE CURIOUSITY

-Thursday, 1991-

Harry Potter was still a dimwit and she wasn't sure how she felt about it.

He was slow, he didn't catch on fast, he took forever learning the spells. It drove her bonkers. How could Luna expect her to befriend him? "If you stare hard enough, you'll melt the back of Langford's head." Luna said, bent over her desk as they wrote.

Her cheeks heated up and she ducked her head, realizing she'd been staring intensely at the boy across from them. Thank Merlin he hadn't noticed yet. "I was just—" she began but Luna clucked her tongue once, silencing her immediately.

"You were just mooning over Harry Potter?" Luna asked delicately, her eyes still on her paper as she scribbled over it. It only took her a moment to realize that Luna wasn't writing down the notes they were supposed to be writing.

Hazel's mouth opened and she spluttered in denial, even though her friend was completely right. Well, she hadn't been mooning over him, more than thinking about why she shouldn't be mooning over Harry Potter. "Well—no. I—you know." She stuttered and Luna's blue eyes lifted to her, their dreamy expression gone. She stared at Hazel hard, seeming as if she were looking for something. She raised one eyebrow and Hazel cracked. "Look, it's not like I'm interested in him. I'm just wondering—"

Luna's eyes rolled up to look at the ceiling. "Zelly, if you can't see how much he's interested in you, you're blind. Out of the blue, just glance over at him. See how quickly he looks away from you. Hm?" She leaned back over her notebook, continuing to scribble.

"I wouldn't even have a chance if I tried." She tried to come up with excuses but the truth was, even though Harry was a little thick-headed at times, she couldn't help but admire his bravery. Even though he had a knack for getting into trouble. "Besides, I'm too young to worry about love interests. Luna, we don't even know what love is!"

May 2nd

My diary entires have been too short.

I need to write more.

Attempt to work through... everything.

I don't know where to start.

The doors to the Great Hall were tall and intimidating. She stood outside of them, anxious. Harry had told her a few third years had found her passed out and had brought her in. No doubt the whole school would know. And all she would be getting would be pity looks. She hated pity. Loathed it. It made her feel weak. They saw her broken parts, not her strong parts. She'd skipped the rest of her class, not wanting to deal with walking in late. But the chatter from the hall created a pit of dread in her stomach. "You're blocking the way." A gruff voice startled her and she turned her head, moving aside.

Draco Malfoy was standing there, slouched with his hands in his pockets. Without sparing her a second glance, he pushed past her and into the hall. Quickly making up her mind, she set her shoulders and followed him in. The chatter continued and she spotted Luna's hair immediately. She headed over, feeling the gazes upon her. She hunched her shoulders and sat down, feeling relief. "Oh hello Zelly." Luna greeted, offering her a chicken breast. She took it but set it down, not hungry. "Are you alright? I heard you fainted."

"I'm neat and dandy." Hazel replied, sighing. Her eyes lifted and she peered across the Hufflepuff table to meet the scorching eyes of Padma. Shivers ran down her spine and she quickly looked back down, suddenly deciding to shovel the rest of the chicken breast into her mouth as a feeble distraction.

She felt Luna glance over at her and she sighed, knowing that her friend wasn't about to drop the subject. "What happened?" Luna asked, softly. Luna was always so gentle when it came to Hazel. So sweet. Caring. She became so cautious after Lavender's death. Treated Hazel as if she were a wounded animal.