Love Thy Enemy (Finished)

Holding the Stars

"Draco, its amazing. So beautiful..." I tell him. He has been standing nervously behind me while I took it all in, but at my words, all signs of worry dissolve from his face and a wide, proud smile stretches his lips.

"You like it?" he asks.

"I have never been any where so beautiful and romantic," I tell him, blushing a bit at the words. 

"Well you haven't seen anything yet my lady," he says with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"What do you mean? What more could there possibly be?" I ask but he just smiles.

"For that, you will have to wait till dark. But from now, lets eat," he suggests and he grabs my hand, pulling me over to the blanket. We both have a seat on the soft blanket and Draco whips out his wand. He begins swirling it with a magnificent flourish and a steaming plate of chicken Alfredo appears complete with garlic bread. The smell hits me and my mouth is instantly watering.

"How did you do that? There are laws," I begin but he just laughs.

"I have been practicing. Besides, I didn't make this out of thin air. But I don't want to spoil the magic, so the secret dies with me," he tells me and I just laugh. Next, he produces two goblets full of Rosmerta's finest mead. I take a sip and the flavor explodes on my tongue. It is delicious and had to cost 50 galleons at least. Draco hands me a fork and we dig in. The pasta is mouthwatering. I have never had anything so delicious and soon the plate is empty and we are both laughing at how stuffed we feel.

While we have been eating, the sky has been steadily darkening until there is only a small beam of light still burning into the clearing. When Draco notices this, he quickly jumps to his feet, blows out the candles and grabs my hand, hoisting me to my feet.

"What are you doing?" I ask, confused at his sudden change. Just seconds ago he was relaxed and joking. Now I can feel the excitement in his every touch.

"Shh, just come over here. You will see," he says, pulling me over the the side of the pond. I begin to respond but he quickly quiets me and just points at the black water. Shrugging, sure he has lost his mind, I stare at the water as the last rays of sunlight disappear, plunging us into darkness. Until a strange light begins to glow. It is coming from under the water. It spreads slowly over the surface of the water until it looks like the entire pool is full of glowing blue stars. It is amazing. small spots of blue light rise and fall, swimming lazily through the water. They begin pouring down the waterfall. Soon, the entire area is glowing with a mystical blue light and I can't take my eyes off of the water.

"What is it?" I whisper, afraid that the sound of my voice may shatter the moment.

"The small ones are bacteria and the larger ones are like jelly fish. It is really cooler if you don't know. They are bio-luminescent sea creatures, that is why they glow. This pond is actually salt water, not fresh water," he explains quietly.

"But how? How can this exist here?" I ask.

"Hermione, this is Hogwarts, a magical school for witches and wizards. How can you doubt the magic of this?" he asks quietly and when he puts it that way, how can I not accept it?

Draco kneels next to the pond and gently plunges his hands into the water. Cupping his hands, he lifts some water and holds it out to me. I hold out my hands and he softly pours the water into my hands. He has managed to catch a couple of the glowing bacteria and now they swim around in my hands. The water is amazingly warm. I feel like I am holding miniature stars in my hands. Eventually I kneel at the edge of the water and dip my hands in, releasing the trapped stars. Instead of pulling my hands back, I let them linger in the warm water. The tiny glowing creatures flow through my fingers, almost playing with me.  Draco kneels next to me and dips his hands into the water where they intertwine with mine. For a long time, we kneel at that pond, not saying anything and just holding hands as the stars frolic through our fingers.