The Stars Aligned

Chapter 20

I'm selfish. I know that. I really hope he's happy with her. He deserves that.

But I don't want him to be happier with her than he is with me. I don't think I could bear to see that. I don't think I could bear to see his grey eyes looking at her the same way he looks at me.

I looked up, and Theo was staring at me.

Blaise cleared his throat, jolting me out of my thoughts. He placed a white gift bag in front of Draco. "Open my gift, birthday boy."

Draco opened the bag, smiling immediately. He pulled out two small bottles, one dark green and one grey. Nail polish. Blaise shrugged. "Figured you could try colors other than black."

"Thanks, mate."

Suddenly all eyes were on me, on the orange envelope in my hand. "Oh, it's nothing much," I said, handing it to Draco.

He wiggled his brows at me playfully before opening the envelope and taking out two thin strips of white paper. "Tickets?"

I nodded. "They're for Elton John's concert in October."

Every single person's eyes bulged. Theo shot me a disappointed stare and complained, "What? That's completely unfair, Granger. You know how much I love Elton John."

I cocked my head at him. "I thought you like Queen."

Theo grinned. "Someone I know got me hooked on Elton." His eyes darted to Pansy briefly, and half a smile rose onto her lips.

I pulled out the other tickets from my pocket, fanning them out in my hand. "I was able to get three others, but they're separate seats so we're going to have to split up."

Pansy cheered ecstatically. "Good enough for me!"

Draco's eyes were soft, my favorite. "Thank you, Granger."

The corner of my mouth turned up a little, and I sent him the Malfoy smirk. "Of course."

We sat there, staring at each other. Theo made a small noise, standing up and backing towards the door, Blaise doing the same. Theo remarked slyly, "I'm gonna leave now because you could cut the sexual tension in here with a knife."

Pansy paled a little, pecking Draco's cheek quickly before following Theo, shaking her head. "So crass, Mr. Nott."

"As always, Miss Parkinson."

___

"Okay, the moment of truth."

Draco and I were in one of the Potion labs, bringing our final project to life just in time for the due date. Tomorrow was already the last day of the school year, the strangest and most eventful year yet.

I quickly scribbled a simple riddle onto a scrap of parchment: What weighs more, a ton of bricks or a ton of feathers? and tossed it into the cauldron.

The red potion bubbled, and the bubbles that formed rose into the air, creating a series of words suspended in the air like holograms. They weigh the same.

I clapped my hands excitedly, jumping up and down. "It works!"

Draco grinned, cocking his head at me as I did my little happy dance. "Never doubted you for a second, Granger."

"Do you think... Do you think it will work with the prophecy?"

"Only one way to find out."

I placed the rolled parchment in Draco's hand, crinkled from the dozens of times I rolled and unrolled it, and he stuck it into our potion. The bubbles rose and words formed.