Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to JK Rowling. I own nothing but the original characters I make.
Chapter 50: Malfoy Hatred
"Really? They're afraid of this?" asked Setsuna.
"Try it first," urged Luna.
"Okay, I'll try." Dudley took the necklace hold it on his hand and teased Luna. "See, they're still here."
Luna pinched her chin, falling into deep thought.
"You're right, they didn't even try to move. Maybe I need a sharper necklace so they are becoming more afraid," said Luna.
"Haha, you're funny. But before we continue, let's introduce ourselves," suggested Dudley. "Hi, my name is Dudley Dursley."
"Oh yeah, I forgot. Well, I'm Luna Lovegood, and I know about you—the famous cousin of Harry Potter," Luna introduced herself.
[DING! Congratulations, host. You have received a greeting full of pureblood family etiquette.]
[Rewards: Knowledge of pureblood customs]
One of the pureblood etiquettes is that a woman won't touch or offer her hand to a man, even when introducing herself. Unlike British customs, there's a distinct difference between Muggle and wizarding society.
This is the rule for witches, but for wizards, it's different. For example, Draco Malfoy offered his hand to Harry Potter while mentioning his family name.
That gesture meant Draco acknowledged Harry as being of equal status to the Malfoy family. When Harry rejected the offer in front of everyone, it signaled that the Potter family looked down on the Malfoys.
No wonder Draco became so obsessed with Harry Potter. Every year, they fought, and Harry, newly introduced to the wizarding world, didn't understand this custom and it is one of the reason he was being mocked by Slytherin.
Hearing the system's "ding," Dudley finally pieced together with the knowledge of pureblood and why Draco Malfoy was so fixated on Harry.
"Oh my, I've never seen Nargles attacking someone's brain!" exclaimed Luna. "You're in a dangerous situation."
Luna panicked, as this was the first time she'd seen Nargles attacking someone's brain. Usually, she only saw them surrounding people, sometimes changing color or they are grouped and become large in numbers.
She could only see 1% of the "whisper of magic," so her eyes perceived different creatures. For example, Dudley saw a screen, while Luna saw something like a bat.
Luna also couldn't control ancient magic like Dudley, which explained why they saw things differently.
"Luna, don't worry," Dudley tried to calm her down.
"I want to calm down, but the Nargles are attacking you!" Luna said while searching through her bag for another necklace.
Seeing this, Dudley took out his wand, pointed it at the screen, and mentally ordered the status screen to disappear.
"How?" Luna was so surprised. The Nargles in front of Dudley suddenly vanished—completely gone. There wasn't a single one left.
"Did you see Nargles attacking me?" asked Dudley, smirking.
"How did you do it?" Luna asked, excited.
"Haha, actually, what you saw wasn't a Nargle. It was the whisper of magic," said Dudley.
"Whisper of magic? My father said it was Nargles," Luna tried to defend her belief.
"Well, what you saw may look like Nargles, but what I saw was something more," Dudley explained in a way Luna might understand.
"Something more? What do they really look like?" asked Luna.
"Well, if someone has the ability to control Nargles, they can use them to perform magic," revealed Dudley.
"What? You can use Nargles for magic?" Luna exclaimed.
"Yes. While you can only see them but can't touch them, am I right?" asked Dudley.
"Yes, unfortunately, I can't," Luna admitted.
"You see them as creatures, but I see them in a different form," said Dudley.
"What is the real form of Nargles?" asked Luna, curious.
"Nargles aren't creatures—they are the whisper of magic. To you, they appear as creatures, but what I see are words and pages," said Dudley.
Luna's eyes widened before she smiled.
"To be honest, I've never really understood what I saw since I was young. My parents couldn't see them. This is the first time I've met someone who can see the same thing as me," confessed Luna.
"Well, now you've found me," Dudley smiled.
"Yeah, thank you for explaining the Nargles. I need to tell my father about this," said Luna.
"By the way, do you want to be my friend?" asked Setsuna, trying to recruit her.
Luna, thinking she misheard, asked, "Could you repeat that?"
"Luna Lovegood, I want to be your friend. Would you like to be mine?" Dudley asked, clearly amused.
"You... you want to be my friend?" Luna exclaimed.
"Yeah, you don't want to?" replied Dudley.
"No, I want to! I've never had a male friend," Luna smiled.
"Well, now you have one," Dudley commented.
"What do friends usually do?" asked Luna. "I have a friend, Ginny Weasley. Sometimes we do gardening together."
Dudley felt pity for Luna. Was this girl like a second Harry Potter?
"Well, a friend is someone who helps for free. For example, your shoes," Dudley pointed at her shoes stuck to the ceiling.
"Yeah, those are my shoes," replied Luna.
"Accio..." Dudley cast a summoning spell, bringing the shoes into his hand.
"This is one example. Friends help each other when they're in trouble," said Dudley.
"Thank you, Dudley. I'm glad to be your friend," replied Luna.
"Another thing is, friends correct each other when they're wrong," added Dudley.
"What? Am I doing something wrong?" asked Luna.
"Yes. Nargles don't steal shoes," Dudley said seriously.
Before handing over the shoes, Dudley engraved them with a rune.
"Dudley, what's the rune for?" asked Luna.
"This rune can be activated by your voice. If you lose your shoes again, you can call them back. And if anyone tries to hide them, their hands will be marked with magical residue," Dudley explained.
"A rune? I've never heard of this kind before. Will I learn it this year?" asked Luna. "By the way, I'm taking Runes in my elective class."
"Glad to hear you've chosen a good subject, but you won't find this rune in any textbook. I created it myself. If you want to learn, you can come to me," offered Dudley.
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