Author Note: The song is "Beren & Luthien" from J.R.R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings", though it doesn't have an actual tune. In the movie, Aragorn sings a small part of it in Elvish, and it's soft and haunting. I love Luna.
Chapter 3 - Ferrodium...Wait, What?
Luna stared at her bare toes, stretched out in front of her, watching the light fade to grey. The toes were white and bloodless, and rather cold.
She wished for her sneakers, or socks, but they were at home, lying on the floor by her bedroom door, forgotten.
The winter chill was slowly seeping through her body.
Mr. Ollivander lay beside her, not having moved since she'd arrived. He was breathing, but barely.
She picked up the cup of water from beside her and laid a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Mr. Ollivander?"
No answer.
"Mr. Ollivander, drink some water. I'm afraid you'll die, sir, if you don't."
There was no sign he'd heard her. His eyes remained closed, breathing the same. She took a sip of the water herself, and began to hum the beginning of an old song, a ballad her father and mother used to sing together on starry summer nights on the front porch.
When she was out of intro, she began to sing the words to herself. The tune was soft and low, and reverberated quietly through the empty cellar.
It was a story, a whimsical story about a man who came upon an Elf maiden dancing in the forest, her long hair like a shadowy curtain around her, with stars woven through it. It told of how the man caught her as she fled, and how they fell in love.
There was a sound outside the door, and Luna sang a little louder.
The second half of the song was about how the Elf maiden set aside her immortality to marry the man, and after many adventures together, how she died.
The singer found herself blinking back tears. It was so beautiful, and so sad.
As the last note was swallowed by the silence, she heard a soft intake of breath.
There was someone else out there.
"I know you're there," she said. "It's all right, you can come in."
A thin, lithe form slipped into the cellar, closing the door, and Draco Malfoy stood awkwardly above her, the premature lines on his young face deeply shadowed. He set down a package and a folded blanket and made to leave.
Luna smiled and patted the floor next to her. "Hello, Draco. I'm glad to see you."
He swallowed and edged over to her, folding himself gracefully down beside her. "Loo-Luna. You mean you don't hate me?"
Hate you? "Hate you? Whatever for?"
He stared at her in surprise. "For treating you like dirt all those years, and letting Death Eaters into Hogwarts. You should hate me. Everyone else does."
"Draco, my daddy always told me to hate the action, not the person doing it. I don't hate you. You couldn't help the things you did! Maybe you even thought you were right!" She suppressed her giggles at his astonishment.
"How can you say that? How do you know?"
"Well," she began, "it's simple, really. When someone like Voldemort or your father walks around hating someone else and thinking bad things all the time, their feelings sort of leak into the people around them, especially if the other people aren't very strong-willed. It's called 'ferrodium'."
His grey eyes glazed over, and he frowned at her. "Ok, then...ferrodium."
Luna nodded gravely. "I think Voldemort does it a lot. That's how the Death Eaters came to be."
The corner of Draco's mouth twitched, and he gazed determinedly at the floor. "How can you say the Dark Lord's name like that? Aren't you afraid of him?"
She brightened, remembering the episode with the Weasley twins and the DA. "Harry told us it's not the name that's scary. Voldemort is. He says they often call him funny names, to keep from getting too scared. Moldy Voldy and His Snakiness, and things like that."
Draco laughed. She liked that. He sounded less mean and cruel when he laughed.
Finally, he said. "What was it you were singing?"
"It's an old ballad, written a long time ago. It's about an elf woman who gave up her immortal life to love a mortal man. I rather like it, don't you?"
He shrugged. "I guess. I liked hearing you sing it."
"Thank you." Then, "So, have you decided yet?"
"Decided...what do you mean?"
She picked at her knotted curls, fixing her gaze on him. "What side you're going to take in the War. You haven't decided, I don't think."
Once again, she'd startled him. "How do you know?"
"You're different, Draco Regulus Malfoy, even I can see it. You've changed. And you haven't admitted it yet, but you wish Harry Potter would win, and you'd have a chance to start over."
"Luna Lovegood, are you a Seer? And how do you know my middle name?"
She laughed. "Professor Trelawny's a Seer, Draco. I'm just good at reading people. As for your name, I won't tell. Everyone has to have secrets, or no one would be interesting."
He ran a hand through his immaculate blonde hair, unintentionally messing it up.
She smiled. She thought he looked rather dashing like that. More devil-may-care.
He pulled the folded cloth napkin towards himself, and laid it on her lap. "I should go, before I'm caught."
"Scones? Thank you, Draco."
As he scrambled to his feet, she reached out and tugged his jumper sleeve. "Will you come back? It got awfully lonely down here today. I like talking to you."
He nodded.
At the door, he turned again, silhouetted against the light from upstairs. "I'll think about what you said."
And then he was gone.
Luna munched a scone in the dark, thinking about ferrodium and how to reverse it. She didn't know if she could, but she could try.
He deserved a second chance.
