Under the Willow Tree | Draco Malfoy

chapter 28: you don't need to be sorry

Lorelei Jones | 4th Year

"Oi, Lorelei, wake up. Lovegood is waiting for you outside the common room," Ashley said as she yanked the covers off Lorelei's body. Lorelei wasn't used to her roommates waking her up in the mornings, and she was suddenly grateful that this wasn't a regular occurrence.

Lorelei rolled over and blinked sleepily at Ashley. "Luna's here?" she said through a yawn.

"That's literally what she just said," Emily retorted with her lips spread into a flat line. After popping a particularly large bubble in her gum, Emily said, "Wow, you move slow in the mornings."

Lorelei frowned and sat up while she rubbed at her eyes. She didn't reply to what Emily said. In fact, she just completely avoided the stares of all three of her roommates. She really wished she could have been a Ravenclaw rather than a Hufflepuff. Why did the Sorting Hat have to put her here? She didn't belong here with Heather, Ashley, and Emily.

"Oh, you're wearing that?" Heather asked blandly after she looked over Lorelei's clothes.

Lorelei glanced down at her jeans and the Oasis t-shirt she got from the concert Gran dragged her to that past summer. Gran was an unexpectedly huge fan of Oasis, and "Wonderwall" played almost constantly that summer after it came out in May. Gran was simply obsessed, so she took Lorelei to the concert with her and got her this t-shirt. Why was Heather so bothered by it?

After ignoring her impossible roommate, Lorelei got dressed quickly in the bathroom and brushed her teeth. She said goodbye to her roommates and started to head to the common room when she realized it was a bit chilly, and she wanted to grab a jumper. Lorelei didn't knock and just pushed on the still cracked open dorm room door, but she froze when she heard her name.

"Did you see what Lorelei was wearing? God, she's so clueless," Heather laughed. Two more sets of giggles joined hers.

Lorelei swallowed hard.

Why did she keep overhearing conversations like this lately? This just reminded her of her mum, and that made it so much worse.

Lorelei stumbled back to the common room, and she crawled out of the exit and walked up to Luna before she even realized that she was moving.

"Are you alr-"

"Do I look bad in this outfit?" Lorelei interrupted with a soft voice and eyes glazed over.

"It's best not to listen to them. You should wear what makes you happy," Luna instructed with a gentle smile.

"But do I look bad?" Lorelei fiddled with her fingers in front of her and just kept staring down at her shirt. It had felt so comfortable and reminded her of home before, but now it seemed to be morphing before her very eyes and making her look like some strangely shaped alien.

"Does it make you happy?" Luna asked instead.

"It did," Lorelei admitted with a frown.

"Then it's exactly what you should be wearing." Luna beamed and adjusted the large lion hat on her head. She looked so pleasantly confident in herself. Even if many others would have made snide remarks about such an accessory, Luna didn't care one bit because she was happy.

Lorelei nervously tugged on the hem of her t-shirt and sighed, "Yeah, you're right, Luna."

"Mhm," Luna hummed. "Follow me."

Without waiting for Lorelei to reply, Luna turned and happily made her way out of the castle. Lorelei rubbed at her exposed arms and wished she had gotten that jumper after all.