“Hey,Drao,”Lunabeamed.“YourememberGee,right?”Thankheavensforthisgirl!
“Hey…Drao?”Italmostsoundedlikeaquestion,asthoughGeewastryingtonavigatetheunfamiliarityofhisfirstname.
“Gee,”Draosaidwithasmallnod.Yeah,thiswasreallyweird.
“Youguysarefriends?”Geeasked,hisvoiedrippingwithseptiism.
“Oh,yes,”Lunasmiled.“Draoanbereallynie.AlthoughIthinkhepreferstoletpeoplethinkheisn’t.Notlikeinthepast,though.Hewasn’tniewhenhewasaDeathEater.ButIthinkhe’stryingtomakeupforit.”
Asalways,Drao’smouthdroppedopeninastonishment.“Youreallyjustsaywhatomestomind,don’tyou?”
Lunaokedherhead.“Don’tyou?Oh,nowonderyou’resowlingallthetimeifyoukeepallofyourthoughtstoyourself!”
“Iguessithurtspeoplesometimes,hearingotherpeople’sunfilteredthoughts,”Geesaid.Itdidn’tesapeDrao’snotiethathewasgivinghimaspeutivegne.
“ButeverythingIjustsaidistrue,”Lunasaid.
“Isit?”Geeaskedinanunonvinedtone.Draobithistongue,butbeforeheouldstophimself,thewordsspilledoutofhismouth.
“Listen,Iknowitprobablymeansnothingtoyou,butIamreallysorry.I’msorryfortheroleIpyedinthewarand…forwhathappenedtoyourbrother.”Draostaredatthefloor,unabletolookGeeintheeyes.
“Youalreadysaidthat,”Geesaid,promptingDrao’seyestoinvoluntarilysnapuptohis.“Inyourletter.Ihaven’tfotten.”
“Oh,yougotone,too?”Lunaaskedwithoutsoundingsurprised.Instead,shesoundedhappy.
“Yeah,”GeesaidslowlybeforeheturnedhisattentionbaktoDrao.“Itwasagoodgesture,youknow,thatyouwrotetoeahofusindividually,insteadofsendingonelettertothewholefamily.Iappreiateyouapologisinginperson,butIdon’tputmuhvaluetowords.”
“Oh,butDraois—”
“Luna,”Draointerruptedherwarningly.
Gee’seyesflikeredquestioninglybetweenthetwoofthem.Lunajustshrugged.
“Well,asmuhasIpreferationtowords,Harrysaysyou’redifferentnow,too,so…”HeraisedhisbutterbeertoDraoandtookaswig.“IguessI’llkeepanopenmind.”
“Right,”Draosaidwiththeghostofasmile.Holy,hehadexpetedworse.Somuhworse.Also,Potterwastalkingabouthim?Hewasn’tsurehowhefeltaboutthat.Itmadehisbellyallflutteryandwarm.Ugh.
“Youwantsomethingtodrink?”heasked,turningtoLuna.
“Oh,yes,abutterbeer,please.”