The Reticulation, Part II

Luna Lovegood sat alone in the library watching all the other people talk and study. Luna sometimes liked to think of herself as an observer who watched what everyone did without really getting involved. It was rather fascinating how people reacted differently to the same thing. For example, Lord Voldemort's defeat seemed to make most of the students happy, albeit a little confused, but Blaise Zabini was instead ranting to a group of Slytherins.

"Lord Voldemort is not gone!" he said loudly. "The Dark Lord cannot be destroyed and, I swear to you, he lives now!" Luna privately thought that Zabini might be a little mad, but she wouldn't know anything about that.

The most unusual person in the library was Cornelius Fudge, who was sitting at an otherwise unoccupied table drinking mouthfuls of firewhisky. If Madam Pince walked by, she would become very angry and yell at him. Luna was sure Fudge would yell back and say very rude things--that was what he had done to everyone else who had disturbed him. When would he learn that wasn't how you made friends?

Just as she was thinking about how amazing it was being so close to an evil man she knew all kinds of secrets about, there was a sudden interruption.

"I am Lord Voldemort! You will all serve me or die!"

Luna looked up to see people panicking and screaming. She didn't understand why everyone got all upset when something horrible happened--it wasn't like it changed anything. Not that she wasn't afraid at all, but you didn't have to make sure everyone knew how properly scared you were.

"Did you hear that?" Zabini said, standing up. "Our lord is alive! I knew he wouldn't let us down." Luna thought that the chaos now filling the library made perfectly composed Zabini look rather dignified. Maybe a little attractive too...

"Who here chooses to serve me?"

"We do!" Zabini shouted. "My family is made up of some of your closest followers and I assure you I am no less devoted. I would gladly die for you!" Luna thought that it was rather unnecessary for him to say this as his rants had already demonstrated that he was loyal to Voldemort. She supposed it was probably part of some complicated protocol or something like that.

"You will be rewarded for your loyalty, Zabini. Who else will serve Lord Voldemort? All how refuse to serve me die!"

Well, that was it then--Luna would not serve him so she would die. It was amazing how little the prospect of certain death seemed to upset her. Of course, she had often imagined herself in a situation where she had to choose between serving evil and dying, but had doubted that she would ever really find herself in a position like that. Well, now she did and she was going to do the right thing.

What really surprised her, however, was that Fudge remained sitting silently at his table. Given the look on his face, she suspected that his decision not to serve didn't have anything to do with integrity. He looked like he wanted to die.