Under the Willow Tree | Draco Malfoy

chapter 41: i'm worried about you

Lorelei Jones | 4th Year

"Can I talk to you?" Theo gingerly asked once he cornered Lorelei in one of the corridors after classes one day.

She paled and stared down at her shoes. She didn't want to talk to him, or anyone else for that matter. Maybe she was overreacting, but she hated how used everything made her feel.

Draco kissed her just to distract her, and she had thought he just genuinely liked her. Now her budding friendships with the others in Dumbledore's Army were destroyed, and many of them shot daggers at her for days after the incident.

Even if it would have been awful, Lorelei still thought Umbridge's torturous detention would have been less painful than the outcome she was living now.

"I'm not sure," Lorelei confessed to Theo and stressed her bottom lip between her teeth. She felt awful telling him no when she had nowhere to be, but she also didn't want to talk to him. She just knew it was going to be about what happened with Draco.

"You don't have to. You just seem really sad, and I'm worried about you," Theo said and rubbed the back of his neck, drifting from one foot to the other as he stared down at her. "And as your friend, I think it's my duty to make sure you're okay... So, are you okay?"

"I'm not sure," Lorelei repeated with tears glossing over her gaze. She hadn't spoken much to anyone in the last few days, and to have someone specifically asking if she was alright comforted her more than she thought possible.

Theo took a half-step forward, then faltered, and murmured, "Uh, is it okay if I hug you?"

Lorelei nodded and let him envelop her in a hug. He wrapped his warm arms around her and then settled his chin on the top of her head. It was like hugging a heated teddy bear, Lorelei thought.

"What would help? Talking about whatever happened? Beating the life out of whoever hurt you? Something else?" Theo asked once they pulled apart. Lorelei didn't miss the look in his eyes that looked both mischievous and venomous when he mentioned beating someone up.

Lorelei shook her head and softly smiled. "No, don't beat anyone up... Would you ever...would you ever want to come to the kitchens with me?"

"You are speaking my language now, Jones," Theo grinned. He threaded his arm through Lorelei's and began to lead her in the direction of the kitchens.

Before Lorelei could stop him, Theo pushed into the kitchen and startled all of the house elves who were still moving about the kitchen.

Wolby, one the house elves Lorelei was closest to, began shaking her head and stammering to herself. "No, no, no. Not another boy. The last boy hurt Miss Lorelei. Wolby does not like it when Miss Lorelei brings boys. Boys hurt Miss Lorelei."

Lorelei's cheeks flamed when Theo looked over at her with confusion and rage contorting his expression. She didn't want to have to explain that.

"It's okay, Wolby. Theo isn't like that. He is just comforting me because someone upset me. Could we bake with you?"

Wolby and Lookey stared at Theo with narrowed eyes and crossed arms for a solid three minutes until they finally huffed at the wide-eyed boy and nodded in defeat.

Winky, however, wasn't quite done yet and came stumbling over. "If you touch Miss Lorelei like that other boy did, I will iron your fingers!"

Theo paled and gaped like a fish. There was a lot to unpack there.

"I am just Lorelei's friend. I didn't mean to cause trouble being here. I can leave you if you'd feel more comfortable." Theo stumbled through his words and met Lorelei's eyes repeatedly.

"You can only stay if we stay too!" Winky added with an indignant huff.

"I'd never want to kick you out. I'll stay out of your way, I promise," Theo said with round, sorry eyes and a reassuring smile.

Wolby softly smiled and shooed Lorelei and Theo over to two chairs while the elves began baking sugar cookies for them. They didn't make chocolate chip cookies anymore after they found out that Enzo ate those ones because Lorelei preferred the sugar cookies. They smiled when Theo agreed that sugar cookies were better than chocolate chip.

Now, the two of them sat, out of the way but with the elves watching Theo like a hawk. Lorelei had her knees pulled up to her chest while she inspected her fingernails to avoid Theo's glances.

"We don't have to talk about anything that you don't want to, but I'm here to listen... It sounds like you're going through a lot, and you deserve to have someone there for you," Theo eventually said while he picked at a loose thread on his jeans.

"I feel like I owe you an explanation for what the elves said," Lorelei said and rested her chin on her knees. "I talked to this Beauxbatons boy last year and took him here on my birthday. He kissed me, and I didn't like it... He wouldn't let me push him away."

"What a prick," Theo fumed. Lorelei lifted her eyes to look at him and found that his lowered brows and mouth pressed into a thin line comforted her. Even if Lorelei had been the one to experience that hurt last year, she continued to invalidate her feelings for months after, so seeing someone else respond so strongly to the situation she tried to rationalize made her feel safe. She felt protected.

"He's gone now, so that's good. I just...I didn't understand why I felt so unsafe around him after it. I thought he was cute and charming, and his nicknames for me made me blush, but once he kissed me, I never felt safe around him again. I didn't want that to happen with Draco too," Lorelei said. Realizing the truth of her statement, tears began to drip down her cheeks. She frowned; she thought she had already cried all her tears over the situation, but here she was, crying again. God.

"Did Draco hurt you, Lorelei?" Theo said, his voice dark and promising protection in the same breath.

"Not physically... It's hard to explain," Lorelei breathed as more tears dripped over her cheeks. She swiped at them and turned her face away from Theo to hide her tears that she felt silly for shedding.

The elves bustled about in the kitchen, glaring daggers at Theo once they saw Lorelei's tears. However, neither of the pair noticed these venomous looks because Lorelei was at war with herself, and Theo's heart was swelling with concern and rage for her.

"What did he do?" Theo whispered, placing a soft hand on her shoulder.

Lorelei met his concerned gaze, and all of the pent up emotions inside her came tumbling out at once. Theo wrapped his arms around her instinctively as Lorelei burst into tears and began to incomprehensibly explain everything that had happened.

Once they noticed how upset she was, many of the elves came over and sat around Lorelei. They played with her hair or sat at her feet with eyes even larger than usual. She collapsed into Theo's side as she told him everything, and he listened to every word, nodding along and getting angry and upset right along with her.

With Theo holding her fragile heart together and the elves surrounding her, Lorelei had never felt more protected and safe in all of her life.

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