After the announcement, a quiet ripple passed through the guests.
One by one, they turned their gazes toward Victor and Luna, nodding with thin smiles—as though the decision had simply confirmed what they had already decided was appropriate.
To them, it made perfect sense. A marriage between old wizarding families, pure magical bloodlines preserved. No scandal. No muggle-born complications. Respectable.
The Lovegoods might be eccentric—famously so—but they were still an old wizarding family. That alone was enough to earn approval in rooms like this.
Xenophilius Lovegood watched quietly from across the table.
He had noticed the small things earlier: Victor listening instead of dismissing, not flinching at Luna's odd remarks, even answering her seriously. That mattered far more to him than titles or alliances.
If the boy had looked irritated—or worse, cruel—Xenophilius would have rejected this arrangement without hesitation, consequences be damned. His daughter's happiness came first.
As it was, he smiled, reassured.
Victor, however, still looked like he'd been struck by a particularly heavy Bludger.
Luna, blissfully unaware of the tension she had just walked into, continued to swing her feet under the table, perfectly content—while her future fiancé processed the fact that his Christmas present had just become a lifelong commitment.
Christmas dinner went on as planned.
The dishes were excellent, the table full, and the guests ate with clear enjoyment, nodding along to polite conversation and tradition-heavy praise. To most of them, the evening was a success.
To Victor, it felt like endurance training.
He ate neatly, properly—exactly as expected of a Malfoy—but every bite felt heavier than the last. Not because the food was bad. It was very good.
Because his mind was still stuck on one word.
Marriage.
'Why marriage? I'm only eleven,' Victor thought, barely keeping his expression neutral.
He'd imagined enjoying his youth the normal way—growing up properly, going on awkward dates, making questionable choices and learning from them.
Not… having his future decided over a Christmas dinner. Now half of those things felt like they'd have to be done quietly, if at all.
'I wonder if my dream of polygamy will stay just that—a dream,' he mused dryly.
He wasn't entirely joking. He was a man, he had a system, and his future potential was anything but ordinary. At some point, he'd even entertained the idea of a dramatic, powerful life with far too many complications attached.
'I'd think about that when I was actually grown,' he decided. 'Ideally after surviving Hogwarts, several dark wizards, one Dark Lord with an obsession for teenagers, and whatever other disasters the wizarding world liked to schedule.'
He glanced sideways at Luna.
She was calmly eating, completely unfazed, as if arranged marriages announced at dinner were no more alarming than pudding changing colour.
Victor felt some of the tension drain from his shoulders.
At least it's Luna, he admitted. If it were someone like Pansy, his life would already be ten times more miserable.
Luna was strange—undeniably so—but she was also gentle, sincere, and oddly easy to be around.
All things considered, Victor decided, this could have gone much worse.
***
After dinner, Victor found himself speaking with Luna—though found was perhaps the wrong word.
His mother had made quite certain it happened.
Mostly, it was Luna talking.
"Nargles love places like this," she said dreamily, glancing at the chandeliers. "Too much excitement attracts them. That's why people feel odd headaches during parties."
Victor listened, nodding along. He knew perfectly well none of it was real—at least not in the way she described it—but this was simply how Luna made sense of the world. She didn't lie; she translated feelings into strange creatures and impossible names.
Then came Wrackspurts. Then the Crumple-Horned Snorkack. Then something about invisible pressure around the head.
Victor didn't interrupt. He noticed something else instead—she watched people closely.
Too closely for someone everyone dismissed as "odd."
After a pause, he asked, "And what do you sense around me?"
Luna looked at him seriously for a moment, head tilted.
"There's a lot going on," she said simply. "Too many thoughts. They're bumping into each other."
Victor huffed a quiet laugh. "That sounds… accurate."
"They aren't bad thoughts," she added. "Just loud ones."
"But I can tell you have a good heart," she said. "Unlike other kids I've met, you don't pretend to be kind. You just are."
He stilled for a moment.
"That's a rather serious assessment," Victor said lightly.
Luna shrugged, as if she'd commented on the weather. "It's obvious. People with bad hearts feel sharp. You don't."
Victor looked away, clearing his throat. "You're… very observant."
"Yes," Luna agreed cheerfully. "Father says most people miss important things because they're busy deciding what's normal."
Victor snorted softly. "Sounds like your father."
She smiled at that, clearly pleased.
Victor wasn't surprised by her assessment. The Lovegoods had always been known as an odd branch of old wizarding blood—not influential in politics or wealth, but gifted in subtler ways.
Their magic leaned toward intuition rather than control, perception. It explained why Luna could sit comfortably in silence, why she spoke in metaphors instead of facts, and why she seemed to understand feelings most people ignored.
She didn't judge people. She sensed them.
Before Victor could dwell on it further, a familiar, distracted voice joined them.
"Ah, Luna," Xenophilius Lovegood said, approaching with his usual distracted smile. "I was wondering where you'd wandered off to."
Luna turned happily. "I was talking to Victor. He has very loud thoughts, but they're nice ones."
Xenophilius blinked, then laughed softly. "Yes, that does sound about right."
His gaze shifted to Victor, studying him with open curiosity rather than judgment.
"I'm glad you're keeping my daughter company," Xenophilius said mildly. "She doesn't often find people who listen."
Victor inclined his head politely. "Likewise."
Xenophilius smiled—just a touch sharper now, a little more knowing.
He looked at his daughter, at the easy curve of her smile, and seemed quietly pleased that this engagement had not been a poor decision for her after all.
*****
A/N : 🔥 On Patreon, the story has already been updated up to Chapter 46 🔥
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