Venom & Virtue

chapter 37

I stepped back into the ballroom, nodding goodbye to Tom as he went in search of Violetta.

We'd stayed another 20 minutes in the library, debating the information he'd provided. But it had taken me at least 10 of those minutes to accept the possibility at all.

At first, I'd laughed at the notion, thinking that he must be joking about the name he'd provided.

Luna Lovegood wasn't someone I'd personally crossed paths with in the last four months, but I knew of her presence well enough.

My awareness was mainly due to the fact that she was notoriously eccentric, standing out like a sore thumb amongst a sea of students who tried their hardest to blend in.

The way she wore her uniform was just the start of her idiosyncratic behaviour; purple and blue striped tights peeking out from underneath her robe, or the bug-like spectrespecs that slid down her nose.

But her personality was the real factor in what made the girl distinctive.

Apparently she possessed an avid interest in magical creatures, specifically the ones thought to be extinct or mythical in the first place. She spent her days traipsing the grounds, writing notes to herself about discoveries of some kind.

Her whimsical ways didn't seem to serve her well when it came to making friends; most of the girls called her Looney Lovegood behind her back, insisting she was entirely nuts.

Not many of the boys were keen either, despite the fact that the witch was obviously beautiful, it was practically social suicide to have a crush on the girl.

In short, she was the very opposite of the Malfoy siblings.

Neither envied, popular, nor even, intimidating enough to be respected.

And so, I had refused to accept the idea, insisting that Tom must have been entirely mistaken in his account of the affair.

But eventually, the longer I had stood there trying to puzzle out the truth, the more the reality started to grow in my brain, rooting itself like a plant into soil, until finally, I realised something.

It was indeed possible, probable in fact, because there was one piercing and undeniable detail about the whole situation; the Ravenclaw girl looked suspiciously like the Malfoy siblings.

It was the main factor that made me unable to dismiss the notion entirely, because I knew, deep down, that there was not a single student, apart from Luna, who possessed the exact same shade of icy blonde as Draco and Violetta.

The same tone as the portraits that lined the halls of the manor. The very same colour that Lucius himself bore in frazzled strands.

The point seemed too precise to be considered coincidental, a distinctness that was also matched by the girl's ivory skin tone.

And so, the likelihood of the rumour left me with one question: what to do with my newly acquired knowledge?

I immediately knew I couldn't address it with Draco, at least not anytime soon.

There were plenty of other issues related to him that I had to navigate first. Lucius was already centred at so many of our conflicts, I didn't think it would be wise to bring up the possibility of him having a niece too.

My gaze drifted over to my friend, watching as she smiled at something Tom was saying to her. She seemed my best option if I had to broach it with anyone, she was certainly a more willing conversationist than her brother, and that was a good start at the very least.

"Well, aren't you pretty," a high-pitched voice drawled from behind me, their ice-cold breath sending chills across my skin.

I turned slowly, finding myself face to face with Narcissa's sister, her coal-black eyes needling into me.