Under the Willow Tree | Draco Malfoy

chapter 68: i know where they are

Lorelei Jones | 6th Year

The days passed by in a strange blur at first. Gran was happily cooking with Fleur for the eight of them. Narcissa was educating the four school-aged residents of the cottage with the knowledge she found most useful. Bill worked with Luna and Theo nearly every day to discuss what was happening at Hogwarts and what they needed to do to help the efforts.

Needless to say, it was a busy time for all, but every night, Lorelei, Luna, Theo, and Draco all gathered in the tower to listen to old records and dance with one another. It was their own little tradition to find some daily joy, and the adults in the house smiled each night when they heard the soft melodies and giggles coming from the girls' room.

Today, they were all gathering for a late lunch prepared by Gran and Narcissa after a particularly uneventful day. They had all slept in to get their rest, and Theo and Bill had scheduled a meeting for that evening to make a plan to find Harry, Ron, and Hermione to get necessary supplies and information to them.

Lorelei was tired and stumbling down from the tower when she nearly ran into Theo. He caught the stumbling girl and flashed her a tight smile.

"I'm so sorry, Theo. I just took a nap, so I'm a bit dazed," Lorelei yawned.

"It's no problem really... I'm actually glad I ran into you. I was wondering if you might have a moment to chat later?"

Lorelei nodded and tried to cover her long-lasting yawn by pressing the back of her hand to her mouth. "Of course. We can go for a walk, maybe?"

"That sounds great," Theo grinned.

Lorelei and Theo made it to the table together, and they took the remaining empty seats across from one another at the table. It was some sort of cozy stew for lunch today, and it smelled heavenly to the hungry Theo.

The meal passed by in a rapid blur, and before long, the pair were swaddled up in jackets and hats that were shoved on them by Gran for their walk. They were planning to circle the area a few times before heading back. They didn't want to get too far away from the cottage because every step further away meant a higher likelihood of danger. But it was still nice to get away from the chaos for a little bit.

Once they were a fair distance away from the cottage, Theo admitted, "So, I've been meaning to talk to you for some time actually."

"Oh?" Lorelei asked. "What about?"

When Theo didn't immediately answer, Lorelei swiveled to face him and lifted her eyebrows in question. It was uncharacteristic of Theo to be so closed off and afraid to speak his mind. Lorelei grew worried as he continued to avoid her eye contact and gnawed on his lip instead.

"You can tell me anything, Theo. I promise I won't judge you," Lorelei said. She placed a hand on Theo's arm, and this seemed to comfort him. He gave her a soft smile and nodded.

"Well, it's about-"

Lorelei never got to learn what it was about, for a loud bang went off in the sand in front of them, and Theo threw himself in front of Lorelei to shield her from whatever it was.

They had both long since forgotten their earlier reasons for being outside as they now scrambled backwards at the sight of three figures now lying groaning on the ground. Lorelei was the first to notice a fourth figure with them, a house elf.

"Blimey, that hurt," one of the boys groaned, and somehow this sparked a memory for Lorelei.

She ran from behind Theo towards the group, practically crying when she saw Harry, Ron, and Hermione lying in a heap in the sand. Somehow they had found the cottage, and by the looks of it, all four of them were alright.