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Chapter 33 — The Girl Who Read Upside Down
The day term began finally arrived. Draco stepped through the barrier of Platform Nine and Three-Quarters and boarded the Hogwarts Express, his mind already drifting into the new semester.
When he'd passed between Platforms Nine and Ten just seconds earlier, he couldn't help quietly mourning for a certain redheaded pair. He knew what would happen tonight.
Big news was coming.
"What does it feel like to drive a flying car?" he wondered with a faint smirk.
"And what about that affectionate little encounter with the Whomping Willow?"
He didn't bother searching for anyone and simply slipped into an empty seat. Almost immediately, he noticed a familiar phenomenon: a neat little bubble of empty space formed around him. No one sat beside him.
Clearly, the rumors from last year still clung to him like smoke.
A few Slytherins had tried sitting near him at first, but even they seemed to have decided that the solitary Draco Malfoy was somehow… more impressive from a distance.
"It's not even a private compartment, yet it feels like one. Should I be paying extra for this?" he muttered dryly to himself.
He shelved the joke and pulled out a stack of books—Lockhart, Lockhart, and more Lockhart—along with a brand-new magazine: The Quibbler.
In all fairness, Lockhart's "adventures" were entertaining. Shame he'd stolen every single one of them.
Men who could wander with werewolves, vacation with hags, or chase ghouls across Europe had all been defeated by a simple Memory Charm. If they ever learned that their lives had been repackaged and sold for a fortune… Draco suspected they'd drag Lockhart to the doors of the Wizengamot themselves.
Still, the combination of "handsome" plus "heroic" had proven powerful. The man was a public menace—and a marketing genius.
After skimming the ridiculous autobiographies, Draco opened his much more interesting magazine. Imagined beasts and impossible conspiracy theories were absurdly refreshing.
"Father says people who like reading the magazine he edits must be good people."
The airy voice floated to him before the girl did. The light dimmed slightly. Draco glanced up.
A girl—eleven or twelve, with long, pale flaxen hair—stood before him. Her eyebrows were so light they were barely visible, her eyes round and protruding as if in constant surprise. Radish earrings dangled from her ears, and a butterbeer-cork necklace bounced gently against her chest.
"Can I borrow that?" she asked, pointing at The Quibbler.
"Of course." Draco handed it to her.
She accepted it, sat directly across from him, and immediately began reading it upside down.
…Perhaps I should start carrying the Daily Prophet instead, Draco sighed internally.
Her odd appearance and dreamlike manner made it easy to guess her name:
Luna Lovegood.
A moment later, Luna suddenly burst into loud, delighted laughter—completely unbothered by the stares she drew.
With nothing left to read, Draco pulled out a small notebook. In it were grids—nine-by-nine—some filled, some empty. A Muggle puzzle. He uncapped his quill and began calculating.
"What's that?" Luna asked. She had already finished the upside-down magazine.
"A Muggle game," Draco murmured, not looking up. "Something to pass the time."
"Shouldn't this one be a seven?"
She pointed at a blank square.
Draco checked his notes. His eye twitched.
He hadn't told her the rules.
"How did you get that?" he asked before he could stop himself.
"Intuition," Luna said serenely. "Like someone whispered it to me."
His other eye twitched too.
"This book clearly suits you better," Draco said dryly, passing the notebook over.
Luna accepted it with a dreamy, "Extraordinary intelligence is the greatest wealth of humankind," and began to write.
Of course, she didn't seem to need any drafts or calculations at all.
"Intuition doesn't get to say that," Draco muttered. "This is cheating."
A few minutes later, Luna returned the completely finished grid.
She studied him for a long moment with those silvery eyes before speaking.
"You seem lonely. Like you don't really fit into this world. People say that about me, but… you feel very different from me."
Draco blinked, startled, but hid it behind a joke.
"Is that so? Well, no one else talks to me except you, so perhaps you're right."
"That's not what I meant," Luna said, frowning slightly.
"Then you'd better let me continue being alone. Once we reach Hogwarts, someone will surely inform you how terrifying I am."
"You're not terrifying." Luna shook her head. "You're a good person. I can feel you don't mean harm."
Two 'good person' cards in a row? Merlin help me, Draco thought.
"Where do you think I can find a Crumple-Horned Snorkack?" Luna asked suddenly.
"...I don't know," Draco said flatly.
Maybe she needs the Mirror of Erised.
"What about a Blibbering Humdinger?"
Draco pressed a hand over his forehead.
Talking to her was undoubtedly the biggest mistake of his morning.
"Don't worry," Luna said kindly. "We'll find them someday."
She flicked her radish earrings, looking perfectly confident.
As if she always had a hidden card to play.
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