IN NOX, SUM VERITAS━━DRACO MALFOY

eight. latibule

━━━━  · 。ﾟ☆ .☽ .* ☆ﾟ. ━━━━

(n.) a hiding place;
a place of safety
and comfort

THE STARS WERE THE BEST AT KEEPING EVEN THE DARKEST OF SECRETS.     It was one of the many reasons why Louis hid away atop the Astronomy Tower most nights when classes weren't in session. He had been given a pass from the professor that allowed him up there after curfew to use for extra study time. And while he had used it for that, however, he had used it for other purposes, as well. 

    The Astronomy Tower was a place of solace for Louis, a haven that somehow kept him safer than the confines of the library, despite the lack of walls that would have surrounded him. It was the place he had been the most at peace with himself and all the goings-on around him, with nothing but a blanket of an elusive, inky night sky full of stars to keep him company. Throughout the years, he'd whispered secrets that he couldn't quite bear to pen into the ancient pages of his journal so he told the stars about them, knowing they were trustworthy as they had never let him down before.

    Now, he was opening up a part of himself and sharing that sacred space with someone who could so easily taint it as soon as they step foot into the hiding spot if they so wished but with the tired, ragged look that colored Draco's face, Louis let that minuscule fear slip into the recesses of his mind, laying it to rest before it had a chance to fester and make a monster of itself, a creation of false pretenses.

    An hour after their little talk in the library and a little more back and forth to convince Draco, midnight was on the horizon and the two of them stood at the top of the Astronomy Tower, the stars as bright as ever and Draco standing a little closer to the door than Louis was hoping for. Louis turned and looked up at the twilight sky, releasing the tension that resided in his shoulders as he let out a sigh of content, feeling the crisp air roll over him.

    "I like to use this as my little place to get away from it all," Louis spoke, his face still in the stars all the while smiling to himself, "my latibule if you will."

    "Your what?" asked Draco, wondering if he had heard him correctly.

    "Latibule," Louis repeated, turning back around to look at Draco, "'a hiding place, a place of safety and comfort'. You get to be whoever you want to be up here. It's just you, me, and the stars."

    "Where'd you even learn a word like that?"

    Louis shrugged, smiling a little. "Just one of my little hobbies, I guess, learning words uncommon. They make for quite the interesting entry titles, you know."

     Draco nodded silently and that was when Louis noticed something different about him. There he stood, drenched in the moon's beams, his posture a little less relaxed and a little tenser than usual, the light reflecting something almost. . .vulnerable within him, a certain softness that's come on only after being hardened by the elements for some time. He had been worn down by something that had been gnawing at him for gods know how long.