11
August 24, 1999 – Tuesday, Week One
They were pulled into the pensieve and dropped into what Hermione immediately recognized as the study of Xenophilius Lovegood. It was very similar to the way she remembered it from two years ago, when she, Ron, and Harry had been almost taken by Death Eaters. The same canary yellow walls were covered with the same familiar quirky paintings, and Hermione shook her head when she saw the same large erumpet horn dangling from the ceiling that she blew up to help them escape. It was still unbelievable that they had such an unpredictable and dangerous artifact in their home for so long without incident.
There was one difference in the setting, however. Unlike before, Luna sat in one of the armchairs in the corner, a Death Eater donning his mask and black robes stood over her. Luna almost appeared to be bored as she looked up at him. Hermione could hear yelling from the next room but couldn't make out the words. Realizing she was still holding Nicola's hand, she dropped it and glanced around at her fellow onlookers.
Malfoy looked around at the dusty, mismatched décor with a watered-down version of his all-too-familiar sneer, and she thought how odd it looked on him now after seeing him without it. The rest stood transfixed on the Death Eater in front of them who was currently looking down on Luna, his head cocked to one side, as he twirled one of her curls around his gloved finger. Hermione felt a rush of anger at his hands on her friend followed immediately by a surge of pride at Luna's angry stare. Despite all her idiosyncrasies and buoyancy, Luna would not be cowed. She held his gaze unflinchingly, with an intensity Hermione had never seen in her face.
All at once, Xenophilius Lovegood was kicked into the room and lay sprawling at their feet. Luna jumped up, pushing past the Death Eater in front of her to help her father from the floor. Other than the look of terror on his face, Xenophilius looked more like the man Hermione met at Bill and Fleur's wedding, and much less like the man she saw when she was here last, with tattered clothing and unwashed hair.
Another Death Eater, presumably the one who had kicked him, came charging into the room. Hermione followed him with her eyes as he stopped directly in front of Luna and her father. The pair stood from the ground. Luna wiped a line of blood from her father's face with her thumb and turned to glare at the Death Eater in front of her.
"This is the one and only warning you'll get, Lovegood," the man said from behind his mask, and Hermione immediately recognized his gravelly voice as that of Selwyn. After hearing him during the Battle of Hogwarts, spitting curses at Ron left and right, his wasn't a voice she was likely to forget.
"The Dark Lord isn't happy with your rubbish rag," he continued, throwing a copy of The Quibbler at Luna and her father. Hermione caught a glimpse of Harry's bespectacled face looking back at her from the cover before Xenophilius caught it. He clutched it to his chest with one hand and used the other to push Luna behind him.
He stood himself up tall, and said, "And what would your Dark Lord have me do? Isn't the Daily Prophet carrying his propaganda thoroughly enough?"
The other Death Eater stepped forward so quickly Hermione had barely registered that he was even moving before the back of his hand smashed against Luna's face. Hermione felt her own heart racing as she stepped forward, momentarily forgetting where she was in her haste to run to Luna's defense. No one else seemed to notice Hermione as she caught herself, too caught up in the scene in front of them.
"Who do you think you're talking to, Lovegood?" the other Death Eater asked, spitting the words at him like venom. "We aren't some two-bit Ministry employees. The Dark Lord sent us here himself. I won't go back to him with a story that you're unwilling to bend." He took a step closer toward them, reaching one hand toward Luna, gently pushing the hair back from her face. "I'm willing to do whatever it takes to make sure we're on the same page."
Xenophilius pulled Luna close to him and stretched his hand out in front of them both, his voice completely free of the defiance he'd shown only seconds prior. "Please, please. That's not necessary. I'll… I'll print whatever you want." He looked back and forth between them frantically, but Luna's eyes never left the man in front of her. The look on her face was one of calm, calculating ire, but the rapid rising and falling of her chest and the shaking of her hands gave away her fear.
The scene dissolved around them, yet they were still in the Lovegoods' living room. The Death Eaters were gone now, and Luna stood calmly watching her father as he paced around the room.
"We can't let them frighten us." She placed one hand on his arm, forcing him to stop and look at her. "If we do, then they've already won. You have to keep printing the truth."
Xenophilius met her eyes and reluctantly nodded. The motion was barely noticeable, just a small nod, as if he wanted nothing more than to just keep her safe.
The scene shifted again, revealing another familiar location. The Hogwarts express stood in front of them, in all its glory. However, the scene itself was completely different than Hermione had ever seen it. Rather than the normal chaos of students and their families running all over King's Cross Station as they filed in and out of the train, there was an obvious air of solemnity; even the station itself seemed dark and ominous. There was no talking or laughing, as was typical for the occasion. Heads were down, and no one spoke or even looked around.
Luna and Xenophilius walked up in front of the group of those watching Luna's memories, and a voice behind them made them all turn sharply.
"I thought you told me you'd play nicely, Lovegood." Travers stood tall behind them, causing the group of onlookers to split in order to not be directly in the middle of the scene. His black hair was slicked back into a tight ponytail, and he tilted his head to one side, making it clear to Hermione that he was the same Death Eater who had struck Luna at their home.
"Didn't you tell me it wouldn't be necessary to have this conversation again?" he continued, his voice unnaturally calm as he surveyed Xenophilius who was trying to hold Luna behind him out of sight.
A few other Death Eaters began circling around them, and Hermione gasped when she saw Malfoy in the circle as well. Not Malfoy as he was now, standing across from her between Susan and Colin, but the Death Eater Malfoy. He was much more gaunt then, with heavy dark circles under his eyes. Memory Malfoy looked around nervously for a moment before his eyes landed on those of Lucius Malfoy. Lucius gave an infinitesimal shake of his head, and Hermione watched as the Malfoy in Luna's memory slipped into character. His eyes clouded over, his face became impassive, and his shoulders dropped into his normal aristocratic stature. Glancing at Lucius, she saw that his face had the same guarded quality.
Hermione looked around to see the real Malfoy standing amongst their group, the same look on his face as his memory counterpart. She wasn't sure if anyone else noticed the obvious change in him in the memory because they were all looking at him here and now, watching the scene unfold around him and his memory self. Seamus stared at him, full of loathing, but surprisingly, said nothing. Susan took a step closer to Malfoy without looking up. It would almost appear to be unintentional except for the way she now blocked him from Seamus's eyesight.
Malfoy shifted and his eyes met Hermione's, and again, she saw a change in him. His eyes lost that cloudy quality, turning lucid again if only for a brief second, before they both looked away at the sound of Xenophilius speaking.
"I… I did."
"Then what is this?" Travers asked, turning the paper around to face him. The cover showed four different panels of shifting photos, all of various attacks by Death Eaters. A bridge collapsing, a house ablaze, the Dark Mark billowing across the sky, and dementors sucking the soul from a group of people. The headline across the top read, "DEATH EATERS ATTACK MUGGLES. IS ANYONE SAFE?"
Xenophilius began to stammer. "I… I… Just…"
"Save it, blood traitor. The Dark Lord isn't interested in your excuses." Travers leaned over a bit, to get a better look at Luna behind her father. "He is interested in your daughter though." His eyebrows raised haughtily at Xenophilius, whose face immediately turned ashen.
"Take her," Travers said to the Death Eaters around him.
"No, no! Take me, please," Xenophilius said, rushing toward Travers as two other Death Eaters grabbed each of Luna's arms.
Travers shrugged Xenophilius off his arm, but when he grabbed him again, Travers pulled his wand, and softly said, "Crucio." Xenophilius collapsed to the ground, his body convulsing as the pain radiated through him.
"No! Stop!" Luna yelled. "I'll go, just stop." Her face was red as she threw off the hands around her wrists. "I said, I'll go."
Travers dropped his wand and walked toward Luna. "So feisty." Xenophilius, still shaking on the ground, began to crawl toward them.
"At least one Lovegood has some stones," Travers said, running his thumb along Luna's jaw. She turned her face away from him as he took her by the arm and disapparated them both with a pop!
In the next scene, Hermione's stomach dropped. She instantly felt all the blood leave her face, and she blinked to clear the fog from her eyes. She was back in Malfoy Manor, a place she hoped to never return to. Even in someone else's memory, she could feel the coldness of the granite floor, and her chest tightened up at the memory of Bellatrix sitting on her, cutting into her flesh. As if she conjured her from her thoughts, Hermione heard the unmistakable cackle of Bellatrix Lestrange. Hermione pulled her arm to her chest unintentionally, wrapping her fingers around her scar just as goosebumps broke out all over her. She glanced up and saw Malfoy looking at her again. This time he didn't look away. His eyes dropped to the arm she was clutching to her chest protectively, and she immediately let it fall back to her side.
Bellatrix yelled, "Crucio!" and the room filled with the sound of Luna's screams. Hermione's eyes tore away from Draco as she turned to see Bellatrix staring down at Luna, who was writhing on the floor in pain, her voice cracking under the strain of her cries.
Voldemort's deceptively soft voice said, "Enough, Bella." Just as she, Nicola, and Seamus joined the rest of the group to make way for Voldemort walking up behind them, the scene shifted again.
This time the sharp intake of breath she heard wasn't her own. As the room morphed into a dark concrete dungeon, Hermione looked beside her to find Malfoy's eyes had grown wide and terrified as he stared at the scene in front of them. She looked down to see that his hand was shaking.
"Again, Draco." The voice of Bellatrix again brought her back to Luna's memory. Luna was lying on the floor, wet from the dingy puddles throughout the dungeon. Her blonde hair was matted and stuck to her face, and she wore the same clothes she was wearing in the last two scenes. Blood was dripping from one ear and her arm hung at a strange angle as she lifted herself to her knees.
In the memory, another version of Malfoy stood over her, his wand outstretched and his face devoid of color, while Bellatrix stood behind him, whispering to him. They were close enough to be heard by the interlopers as she said, "I said do it again."
Memory Malfoy blinked a few times and said, "Crucio." It was barely more than a whimper, and Luna's body gave a slight jerk, but the screaming that typically came with the Cruciatus didn't tear from her as Hermione expected.
"I told you!" Seamus yelled. "Look at this! And we're all supposed to just –"
"Shut up, Seamus," Susan said, quietly, just as the real Malfoy turned away from the scene and placed his hand over his mouth. "This is not your memory, and this is not your time," she continued.
"But –" Seamus began, but the look Susan gave him silenced him with a humph.
"Your heart has to be in it, Draco," Bellatrix continued, turning them all to face the scene developing around them. "He'll know if you hesitate." As she said it, she stepped slightly away from him, and they all watched as the past version of Malfoy's eyes grew big as he stared at his aunt's wand now pointed at him.
"Crucio," she said, and he dropped to the floor, only a foot away from Luna. Hermione felt a tear fall down her face as she watched him thrashing on the ground, curled around himself. Even Seamus looked ashen, unable or unwilling to process the idea that maybe Malfoy didn't have as much of a choice as it appeared to the rest of them at Hogwarts.
The curse abated, and Bellatrix stood waiting for him to get up. When he did, Hermione saw that he was still jerking on one side, a common side-effect from the Cruciatus curse.
"I hope you know I get no pleasure from this, Draco," Bellatrix cooed. She sounded anything but put out at having to torture her own nephew. "I have to make sure your heart is in the right place," she said, rubbing her hand delicately up his arm and lifting it so that his wand was now pointed toward Luna. Bellatrix took her place behind him once again, wrapping one arm across his body, her fingertips gracefully gliding up his chest to rest her hand over his heart. She leaned in toward him with her lips brushing against his ear, and dropped her chin onto his shoulder as she whispered, almost seductively, "Do it again." The look on Memory Malfoy's face said he was not at all comfortable with her touching him in this way.
He turned slightly, pulling his head away from her, and pointed his wand back at Luna. She was on her knees in front of him, and when Luna's eyes met his, she said, "It's okay, Draco. I –"
"How dare you speak to him! Crucio!" Bellatrix shouted, leveling her wand on Luna from over his shoulder.
Luna sank to the floor, her screams once again filling the air around them. Hermione felt the room spin around her, so she knelt down as well. She was afraid she was going to pass out, but this was somehow worse, being so close, eye-level with Luna's writhing body on the floor in front of her. She felt bile rise in her throat as she fought the urge to throw up.
Luna's voice cracked as the curse broke, and sobs replaced the echoing sounds of her screams.
"Do it, Draco," Bellatrix said, more forcefully now. She turned away from him in boredom. She rubbed her temples, like torturing someone for the hell of it was giving her a headache. "Right this time," she added, the hint of a threat evident in her words.
Hermione watched as Luna briefly looked up to meet his gaze again. Tear-filled blue eyes met gray, and once again, just like clouds shifting across his vision, his anxious expression was placed with one of resignation.
He lifted his wand and said, "Crucio." Still not as forceful as Bellatrix, but with a bit more bite than it had the previous time. Luna flinched for a split second, and just before Bellatrix turned back around, Luna dropped to the floor and screamed again. She lay there momentarily, seizing in pain, and Hermione saw a momentary flash of confusion cross Malfoy's face.
She was faking! Hermione turned to gauge the real Malfoy's reaction to this now but found that he still had his back to the scene around them.
She turned back around just as Bellatrix walked back toward him. Memory Malfoy dropped his mask back into place, and Luna stopped screaming where she lay shaking on the floor.
"Good, Draco. We'll try again later," she said, as the scene transformed once again.
In the next scene, Draco and Luna sat on a metal bench in the same dungeon they were in before, but thankfully there was no Bellatrix in sight. It was incredibly odd, and Hermione had to blink a few times to make sure she was seeing properly.
Luna and Malfoy were playing Wizard's Chess in the dungeon of Malfoy Manor as if it were the most normal thing in the world.
"You don't have to pretend next time, you know," Luna was saying, drawing Hermione to the conversation rather than the unusual scene itself. "They're going to do it to me regardless, and at some point, she's going to catch on. I would know you didn't truly mean it."
Malfoy looked intently at the game in front of them and said, "Knight to Queen's Bishop," ignoring Luna's statement entirely.
The knight began moving across the board just as the dungeon door banged open. Malfoy jumped to his feet, and with a silent flourish of his wand, the chess board and small candle that had illuminated the darkness disappeared.
Voices could be heard along with heavy footsteps as they descended the staircase. Memory Malfoy looked toward Luna, and Hermione could barely make out him holding a finger in front of his lips, shushing her, as he stepped into the shadows.
Dolohov and Travers reached the bottom of the staircase and looked around for a moment.
"Can't see shit down here," Dolohov said, before a small beam of blue light emitted from the tip of his wand. It fell across Luna's face, and she lifted one arm, shielding her eyes from the brightness.
"Ah, there she is," Travers said, as they walked across the dungeon to where she sat. He took a large pull of the flask in his hand before handing it off to Antonin. "We've been waiting for the right time to come down and get to know you better."
Hermione's heart began to quicken, fearing the worst from the scene in front of her. She dropped down to sit from where she had been crouching on the floor and cradled her head in her hands.
She didn't want to see, but she could still hear them as they walked toward Luna. Hermione heard Luna shift on the bench, scooting herself as far to the wall behind her as she could.
"Don't worry. We won't bite," Travers said. "Unless that's what you're into. Greyback's right upstairs, we could bring him down if you'd prefer."
Dolohov laughed at this, a deep, throaty merciless laugh that set Hermione's teeth on edge. Her stomach was roiling, and she desperately wanted to leave. I don't want to see any more.
"Don't touch me!" Luna hissed. Hermione looked up suddenly when she heard a loud thud to find Dolohov yelling profanities and holding his nose as blood leaked out around his fingers. The flask clanged to the floor beneath him, echoing throughout the dungeon.
"Little bitch," Travers said, and snatched Luna by the hair, twisting her neck painfully and slamming her into the bench with his other hand around her throat. Luna flailed beneath him, trying to push him off her. Holding her down with one arm across her shoulders and throat, he climbed up her body, resting his knees on either side of her hips to stop her from thrashing.
"Shut up, Dolohov, and heal your fucking nose." With his free hand he unhitched his belt, muttering insidiously to Luna, "I like it when they struggle."
Hermione had completely forgotten about Malfoy hiding in the shadows when bright red light shot forth, hitting Dolohov square in the chest and Travers in the back. They both fell over unconscious, Dolohov's nose still bleeding profusely and Travers' hand inside his pants.
Malfoy rushed over to Luna, offering her his hand to help her up. She was shaking uncontrollably as tears ran down her face.
"Are you… Are you okay?" he asked, his voice quivering.
"I'm fine. I'm fine." Luna said softly, more to herself than in response to his question. She wiped her eyes and rubbed her cheek absentmindedly.
Malfoy was trembling just as badly as Luna was as he lit his wand to look her over. "Let me see."
Luna was obviously shaken but seemed to be unharmed, save a cheek that was already beginning to bruise.
"Episkey," he muttered, and the bruise on her cheek abated.
"You didn't have to do that, Draco. What are you going to do?" Luna asked him.
"I couldn't let them …" He shook his head, and then took a deep breath. "I did have to do that. I'll take care of it."
Hermione was completely dumbstruck as Malfoy poured the remainder of the flask across both Travers and Dolohov and obliviated them.
"They'll think they passed out playing poker again." He cast a spell to levitate them both up the stairs. Before he reached the steps, he turned back and said, "Lovegood… I'm…" He was clearly uncomfortable; he couldn't face her. He stood facing toward her, but his eyes were downcast. "I'm sorry."
Luna stood up from the bench and took a few steps toward him. "Why are you apologizing? You didn't do any of this." The way she said it, Hermione knew she wasn't just referring to their current situation.
He looked up then, and Hermione's heart jumped into her throat as she realized that he was blinking back tears.
"Didn't I?" he asked. He closed his eyes briefly, and his jaw rolled as he clenched his teeth tightly. When he opened his eyes again, they weren't the icy blue-grey they had been before. Instead, they were duller, deadened. "I'm sorry I didn't do something sooner."
He didn't give her a chance to respond as he swiftly turned away from her, extinguishing the light from his wand, and bolted up the stairs.
The scene evaporated around them, and Hermione barely had time to process what had just taken place before she was dropped directly into the middle of the Battle of Hogwarts, staring at herself as she lifted Luna from the ground.
She remembered the scene they were in now vividly. It had replayed in her nightmares often enough that she wasn't likely to forget it any time soon.
This is surreal, she thought as she stood up and watched Memory Hermione help Luna up from where she had fallen. Blood was pouring from Luna's nose after she had been trampled by a group of Death Eaters who were fleeing an angry horde of house-elves.
As Luna wiped the blood from her mouth, they both turned at the sound of Bellatrix's unmistakable voice. "What's the matter, baby Weasley? Can't keep up?"
Bellatrix was shooting curse after curse at Ginny who was trying desperately to block them. Hermione remembered not hesitating for a second as she raised her arm and shot a Diffindo directly into Bellatrix's back. Bellatrix screamed in anger as the spell collided, ripping a gash in her back, and turned to see who had dared attack her. When her eyes met those of Hermione in Luna's memory, Bellatrix leered, "We have unfinished business, Mudblood."
When Ginny yelled, "Reducto," from behind her, Bellatrix never even turned as she casually flicked her wand, deflecting it.
Luna shot another at her that Bellatrix easily blocked as well. Her eyes were levelled at Hermione as she stalked toward them, Ginny shooting curses at her back. Very soon all three girls were casting spell after spell at Bellatrix, but she was too fast for them. They were so busy blocking curses, that they were only able to cast one to every three from Bellatrix.
Bellatrix appeared to be playing with them, cackling and saying, "You are nothing. Mudbloods and blood-traitors."
Hermione remembered all too well what was coming next, and she herself turned away. She couldn't bear to watch, knowing again that this was yet another death to be lain at her feet.
Falling into her own memory, she remembered when one of Luna's spells made it through, causing blisters to erupt across Bellatrix's face, she seemed to have had enough games. As she raised her wand, a look of complete madness on her face, she yelled, "Latus Destructus." Just as the spell shot out directly at Hermione, she felt someone shove her roughly to the ground. The spell missed Hermione but hit Tonks directly in the chest.
"No, no, no!" Hermione yelled. She didn't have time to stop; Bellatrix shot curses even more fiercely now. She was forced to turn away from Tonks just as Luna knelt down beside her, trying to stop the blood seeping through her shirt and pouring from her mouth.
Hermione snapped out of her own memory, returning to Luna's at the sound of Luna's voice.
She turned back around, having missed this part when she and Ginny were left to fight Bellatrix during the battle.
Luna sat with Tonks's head in her lap, looking down into her eyes. Tears ran down her cheeks and dripped onto Tonks's face, where she lay twitching and jerking, blood bubbling from her mouth. Hermione was vaguely aware of the sounds of the battle going on around Luna, as she and Ginny continued to fight Bellatrix. It was only a split second later that she faintly heard Molly Weasley's voice as she yelled, "Not my daughter, you bitch!" She knew this was the moment that Molly rid the world of Bellatrix, but she couldn't find it in herself to look away from Luna's calming words to Tonks as she died.
"It's okay. You're not alone," Luna was saying. Tonks's eyes flashed back and forth from dark brown to light honey brown, the color of Remus's, before settling on a bright silver gray, the same color as Luna's. They were a stark contrast with the dark color of Tonks's hair and her olive skin. But the moment they turned silver, Tonks stopped shaking. She clutched Luna's hand with her own and muttered two syllables before she went still. "Ted…dy."
The memory softened around them, and Hermione found herself back beneath the bright lights of the group counseling room at The Willows.
It took a moment for them to readjust to the room, and she blinked rapidly as she retook her seat. She didn't have the energy to even look around to see how anyone else was handling all that they had just seen; she lifted her feet into her seat and wrapped her arms around her knees, burying her face. She couldn't hold back the sob that climbed its way up her throat and out her mouth
How the hell is this supposed to help?
She felt her heart racing and her vision began to blur around the edges.
Here it comes.
She felt like the room was spinning, and she was vaguely aware of shouting from the room around her.
But, like being plunged in a warm bath, she felt her body relax. Her shoulders dropped as she blinked a few more times, making sure the room was no longer fuzzy. She lifted her arms, taking in the room around her, and found Seamus, red in the face, standing over Malfoy, who was sitting much like she was, wrapped around himself and not paying much attention to Seamus.
"I've cast a calming charm on the room," Alys said. "You should all feel yourselves relax a bit." Her voice was soothing and melodic. "I want everyone to take a seat, get as comfortable as you can, and listen to the sound of my voice."
She looked at Seamus now, and said, a bit more forcefully, "Please take a seat and listen to the sound of my voice."
Seamus looked around, a bit confused, before taking his seat.
Hermione dropped her legs to the floor, just as Nicola retook the seat beside her.
"Everyone close your eyes and take a deep breath. Continue breathing as I count to eight."
As she counted, Hermione breathed in deeply, trying to focus on nothing but her chest as it expanded. She still felt her heart jumping in her chest but not nearly as strongly as it had been before.
"Now hold that breath as I count to four."
Hermione held her breath, focusing on the feeling of warmth in her stomach, most likely a side-effect from Alys's charm.
"Now exhale through your mouth as I count to eight again."
Hermione blew the air from her lungs and listened as everyone else in the room did the same.
"Good. You can open your eyes now."
Hermione looked around the room. Everyone still showed obvious signs of distress after what they had just witnessed. Nicola's face was puffy, and her hands were slightly trembling. Malfoy's cheeks were peppered with splotchy blooms of bright red, and Seamus seemed to be fighting against the calming charm as much as he could; he was clenching his fists over and over and anxiously bouncing the ball of one foot. Parvati was still crying, but she didn't seem to even notice as the tears coursed down her cheeks, and Dennis stared into the middle of the circle at nothing at all.
"I know that what you've just seen is very traumatic," Walt said. "Many of you witnessed something similar to your own trauma and a few of you even saw yourselves in Luna's memories. We wanted you all to experience this in order to see and understand that you are not alone in your experiences. A very powerful part of healing is sharing your story with other people, as Luna has just done. Sharing your story helps you to focus on specific events, sorting your overwhelming thoughts and feelings into a clear stream of consciousness. Hearing someone's story is also an important part of recovery. It teaches you to be more receptive, sensitive, and understanding to what someone else has been through. In this situation specifically, we were hoping to shed some light on how similar Luna's story is to many of yours as well as how others in this group may be a bit different than the idea you have of them in your mind."
"Why are you beating around the bush?" Seamus interjected. "Why not just say you're hoping we all see Malfoy as some sort of knight in shining armor because he didn't let those fucking apes rape Luna?"
Hermione waited, hoping Walt would intervene. Malfoy never looked up. His chest was rising and falling rapidly as he continued to stare at the floor. He was grinding his teeth so tightly, Hermione expected to hear it across the room.
Seamus continued. "I didn't see that at all. What I saw was just another Death Eater standing by to take her away from her father. What I saw was him standing in the corner as she was manhandled, too much of a coward to –"
Malfoy lifted his head up sharply, as if he was finally ready to take up for himself, but Luna beat him to it.
"You have no idea what you're talking about, Seamus." Her voice was calm and collected, as it always was, but she spoke with a certainty completely contrary to her normally vague form of speaking. "I would be dead if not for him. You're trying to find someone to be angry with, but you're putting blame on the wrong person."
Perhaps it was the finality in her tone or simply the fact that Luna never speaks harshly to anyone, but Seamus immediately snapped his mouth closed.
"Luna is right, Seamus," Walt continued. "I do believe you're looking for someone to be angry with, and Draco being here makes it very convenient for you to choose him. I believe if he were not here, you'd be laying that blame on someone else's shoulders," he said, lifting his chin toward Hermione across the circle.
Seamus looked toward her now, the shade of red in his face deepening. She didn't look away, meeting his eyes fiercely. She didn't at all want to be the object of his resentment, but after seeing what she just did she didn't want it directed at Malfoy just now either.
Well that's an interesting change of events. She pushed that feeling away, not wanting to worry about it now.
"I think we're going to end here. You each have journals on your desk in your room, and I'd like for each of you to write about what you saw today and how it made you feel. This isn't anything you'll need to share with anyone other than your specific counselor, unless you'd like to share it at group tomorrow. So, feel free to be as expressive as you'd like. We'll be hanging out for a bit if anyone feels that they need to talk as well. Otherwise, thank you all for being so open tonight, with yourself and with one another."
He closed the meeting, and before he finished saying goodnight, Seamus had already rushed out of the room without a word to anyone, Parvati following close after him.
Nicola exhaled deeply causing Hermione to turn toward her. "So much for not pulling out the heavy stuff on day one, right? That poor girl," she said, nodding toward Luna who was preparing to leave the room, giving Susan a kiss on the cheek before departing. "I need a cigarette," Nicola said and stood from her chair, leaving without another word.
Hermione stood as well, bypassing the counseling team and Dennis on her way out the door.
When she rounded the corner toward her hallway, she found Malfoy, inches from Luna's face, his eyes burning with fury. "You had no right!" he said. "That wasn't your –"
He turned quickly, seeing Hermione staring at them. He turned back to Luna and unclenched his fists hanging by his waist.
She said, "I don't understand why you're so set on hiding the best of you, Draco."
He said nothing. Glancing back at Hermione, he stomped off. Seconds later, Hermione jumped when she heard his door slam.
Luna turned toward Hermione and smiled. "Hello," she said.
Hermione walked toward her, not really knowing what to say after seeing Luna's memories and this strange scene in front of her. "Luna, I'm –"
"It's okay, Hermione. I'm okay. You don't have to say anything." She shook her head, and if it weren't Luna, Hermione would have questioned whether or not to believe her. But, she didn't.
Hermione took a deep breath. "I take it he's angry at you."
"Oh, yes. I knew he would be. But I don't care. I think he believes that he doesn't deserve forgiveness. Even though, to me anyway, he's done nothing wrong." She looked toward the hallway where Malfoy had retreated moments before. "That's what I said at his trial too."
Hermione was taken aback, though knowing what she did now, it was obvious that Luna would testify at his behalf as well. "I didn't realize you spoke at his trial."
"Yes, I did. He wasn't happy about it then, either. Well, I suppose some part of him is, but he would never say thank you for it. I'm glad that you and Harry spoke for him as well. I knew you would."
"You did?"
"Well," Luna began. "It was the right thing to do, of course, but after Dobby I knew you would."
Hermione's forehead creased as she tried to figure out what Luna meant by that. "I don't understand. What about Dobby?"
"Oh," Luna said, glancing back down the hallway toward Malfoy's room. "Hmm. I guess that isn't my place. But you should ask Draco about him." She turned back toward Hermione and smiled. "I'm going to go home now. It's quite tiring sharing so much in one night." She hugged Hermione and left without another word, leaving her confused and alone in the corridor.