Victor's attention snagged on the next arrivals—and he actually stilled.
Xenophilius Lovegood stepped into the hall, robes as eccentric as his reputation.
At his side walked his daughter, Luna Lovegood—small, blonde, and serenely observant, her pale eyes drifting over the enchanted décor as if she were cataloguing curiosities no one else noticed.
Victor frowned.
'The Lovegoods? Here?'
Yes, technically, the Lovegoods were an old pure-blood family. But they were also eccentric, politically inconvenient, and completely uninterested in the usual pure-blood social games. They didn't attend gatherings like this. They weren't invited to gatherings like this.
Victor glanced toward his parents.
Lucius and Narcissa were greeting Xenophilius politely—but it was Narcissa's expression that made Victor pause. She smiled, genuinely so, and not at Xenophilius.
At Luna.
Victor felt a faint twitch near his right eye.
'…Is it just me, or is my eye actually twitching?'
That usually only happened when something was about to go very right—or very wrong.
Given his luck lately, it could honestly go either way.
When the last of the guests arrived, everyone took their seats at the long dinner table. Conversation settled into a steady murmur as plates and goblets aligned themselves neatly in front of each guest.
Victor moved toward his seat near the head of the table. Draco followed automatically, about to sit beside him as usual.
Narcissa stopped him with a gentle, precise motion.
"Draco," she said, indicating another chair a little farther down. "Sit there."
Draco blinked. "But—"
"That will be all," Narcissa said, her tone pleasant and final.
Victor paused, noticing something odd: the chair beside him had been deliberately left empty.
Before he could ask, Narcissa turned and beckoned Luna Lovegood over.
"Miss Lovegood," she said warmly, drawing out the chair next to Victor, "please sit here."
Luna did so without hesitation, settling into the seat as though it had always been meant for her. She glanced around the grand hall with mild curiosity, then smiled faintly to herself.
Narcissa looked between Victor and Luna, clearly satisfied, then moved back to her place beside Lucius at the head of the table.
Beside him, Luna swung her feet slightly under the table, utterly unconcerned.
"Hello, I'm Luna Lovegood," she said dreamily, smiling as though they were already friends.
"Victor Malfoy," he replied.
"Oh, I know," Luna said at once. "Your house has very loud magic. It sort of hums, like it's always busy thinking."
Victor blinked. "…Does it?"
"Yes," she nodded seriously. "Some houses whisper. Yours hums. It's rather proud of itself."
She tilted her head, studying the silver cutlery as if it might float away at any moment. "Your mother is very kind. She smiles with her eyes, not just her mouth. That's how you know."
Victor glanced down the table, where Narcissa was speaking with a guest, composed as ever. He looked back at Luna. "You notice a lot."
"I have to," Luna said lightly. "Otherwise the Nargles get bored and start rearranging things."
She leaned closer, lowering her voice conspiratorially. "They like silver. And holidays."
Victor paused, then allowed himself a small smile. "I'll… keep that in mind."
As expected, she was rather strange. He had met plenty of odd people in his life, but Luna Lovegood operated on an entirely different wavelength.
Most people tried to impress, flatter, or at the very least make sense when meeting a Malfoy for the first time.
She did none of the polite small talk Victor had expected.
Instead, Luna spoke in that oddly serene, drifting way of hers—comments that sounded harmless but somehow made people pause and wonder if they'd missed something important.
It was exactly the sort of thing that earned her strange looks at Hogwarts and whispered labels behind her back.
His attention flicked, unavoidably, to his mother. Narcissa had been unusually warm all evening—and very deliberately had seated Luna beside him.
'Why, exactly?'
Victor felt a faint twitch near his temple.
'Why is Mother being this kind? And why her? Right here, beside me?'
Then a thought crept in—uninvited, unwelcome.
'…No. Surely not.'
The idea struck harder than he cared to admit, not with surprise but with a cold, sinking jolt. An arranged marriage.
He was eleven.
'Did they truly need to do this so early?'
Lucius rose from his seat, a wine glass lifted with precise elegance. The low hum of conversation died away at once.
"My friends," he began, voice smooth and assured, "it is always a pleasure to welcome those who still remember the value of heritage."
A few guests nodded approvingly.
"In times like these," Lucius continued, "when the wizarding world grows increasingly… careless with its traditions, it is vital that old families stand together. Pure-blood lines, time-honoured customs, shared understanding—these are not relics. They are foundations."
Lucius's gaze swept the table, pausing briefly—far too briefly—on Victor, then sliding on to Luna, before returning to the guests.
"Strength comes from unity," Lucius said calmly. "And unity comes from choosing wisely whom we stand beside."
'I knew it. I absolutely knew it.'
Beside him, Luna tilted her head, watching Lucius with mild interest, as if he were describing the weather. Then she leaned toward Victor and whispered, completely earnest, "My dad says blood doesn't really matter. It's the thoughts that get tangled."
Victor nearly choked.
'Of course. Arranged marriage speech and Luna commentary.'
'Merlin truly has a sense of humour.'
"So, on this special day," Lucius continued "I wish to announce something of importance to the future of House Malfoy."
"In keeping with tradition," Lucius went on, "and the preservation of long-standing pure-blood alliances, my wife and I have agreed upon a formal marriage arrangement between House Malfoy and House Lovegood."
A ripple of quiet interest moved through the hall.
"Our eldest son," Lucius finished calmly, "will, in due time, be betrothed to Luna Lovegood."
"Oh," Luna said thoughtfully, peering at the table as if noticing it for the first time. "That's nice. I was wondering why the mistletoe kept hovering over this side of the room."
Luna turned to him, smiling serenely. "Don't worry," she added. "Marriage contracts are much less frightening than Wrackspurts. At least you can read those."
Victor wasn't in the mood to comment on Luna's words.
He looked utterly dumbfounded, staring at his father and mother as the meaning finally sank in.
Across him, Draco turned to him, eyes lighting up.
"…Wow," Draco whispered. "You look like you just got homework for the rest of your life."
Victor didn't respond.
The silence was answer enough.
Of all the gifts his parents had ever given him, this was the most surprising—and the one he knew he would remember long after Christmas had passed.
*****
A/N : 🔥 On Patreon, the story has already been updated up to Chapter 45 🔥
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