When darkness looms closer, the night sky at the Malfoy Manor was painted with millions of glittering diamonds. Twinkling with their might, the diamond-like stars peered down onto Earth, gracing the souls with their beauty. What seems to be within the grasp of one hand was actually unreachable. Aine and Draco sat side by side on the window still of the balcony of the Malfoy boy's room, gazing up to the navy sky as they admired the painting of the heavens. It was such a breathtaking creation.
"That one right there is the Lyra constellation," Draco pointed and Aine squinted in its direction, nodding her head as she hums.
"What about that one?" She asks, her finger darting to the rather orangey sparkling dot.
Draco grins as he looked at her, "That's the Eltanin star. It's the brightest star in the constellation of Draco, along with the Rastaban star. They were known to represent the fiery eyes of the Dragon," he explained. Setting the astronomical telescope, he presented it to Aine who looked into the glass. Within the scope, Aine beams at the sight of the glowing orange star that reminded her of fire opals.
"It's very beautiful..." she mutters and Draco nodded along.
"I can see why it's called the fiery eyes of the Dragon," she chuckles, noting the star's flaming colour. Pulling away from the instrument, she studies the sky again and Draco continued to show her the stars of the night sky. In the peaceful quiet night, Aine listened to Draco's stories and findings in silence. She peeks at him, his words about the Ophiuchus constellation slowly muffling out and she noticed the way his eyes soften as he reads through the astronomy book, muttering the information about it. His grey eyes gazing down intently held a glimmer of excitement and his voice was filled with spirit when he spoke. Aine turns her head to glance at his face, his skin was pale but his cheeks were pink even under the night sky. His eyelashes were rather long too and his lips were curling up as he utter the words.
Not realizing that she was being drawn in, a smile sneaked onto her and she had a thought: He was actually very handsome, even in casual clothes. Though she wasn't quite sure that his idea of casual clothing consist of a thin black sweater and matching coloured pants with loafers. Compared to the informal attire she has seen him wearing during Hogwarts, his current outfit was much more relaxed. Now that she thinks about it, it seems that he was always wearing black apparel, except that one time during the Yule Ball when he wore white. Aine just thought that he looked better in brighter clothing instead of the usual black. However, whenever Draco wore black, he looked even more charming and good looking that it made Aine's heart—
Her eyes widened at her internal thoughts and she immediately jerks away from him, surprised at her own feelings. Her heart palpitated quicker when the realization hits her, what was I just thinking about?! Aine's face heated up and she looks away from Draco's face to recollect herself. Yet, the more she thought about it, why was she blushing? Why was looking at his face making her lose her mind over her running thoughts? Clearing her throat, she found herself taking a peek at Draco once more.
What she hadn't realized was that Draco was already looking at her, so when she turned to him and found him staring at her. Her heart skipped a beat and her pupils dilated when they met his bright grey ones.
"What's wrong?" he asks her in a soft calming voice.
"NOTHING!" she retorted back a little too quickly, making him raise a brow. She let out a forced chuckle to disguise her embarrassment, making him laugh along with her awkward behaviour.
"Alright, love."
Aine whips her gaze to him, blushing at his sudden play of nicknames. "Wha—"
Draco turns to her, confused. "What is it?" he asks.
"Stop with that!" she exclaims, her heart racing again. Oh, calm down my crazy beating heart!
"With what?" smirks Draco as he leans towards her, causing Aine to widen her eyes at him. She jumps to her feet and scrambles away, flustered. Yet the sight was amusing to Draco and he liked teasing her, just to watch her expressions change adorably.
"You're mean," Aine replies, avoiding Draco as they ran around the balcony. After they circled rounds around the telescope, he finally catches her from behind. His arms wrapped around her as she froze.
Act normal, act normal. Everything's fine! Yeah... Everything's great!
"What are you... Doing?" she asks him, ignoring the pounding feeling she felt on her back. His heart was racing just as much as hers and she prayed hard that he wouldn't hear how loud her heart was beating.
However, Draco merely smiles, "Your heart is beating really fast, Aine."
"What a coincidence, yours is too!" Aine grins, swaying her body side to side to break free from his embrace. Instead, the boy's hold on her only tightened the more she struggles.
"Let me go," Aine ordered, tilting her head backwards to meet his eyes.
"No," Draco answered, a playful smug look plastered on his face.
"Why not?" she asks.
"I figured you may need it?" replies Draco.
"Need what?"
"A hug."
The air around them went still and Aine heaved a soft sigh, a bitter smile spread across her face. "That obvious, huh?"
"A little," Draco chuckles, turning her around so that he sees her face. "You okay?" he asks, his usual teasing voice faded and replaced with one of seriousness. Aine's gaze adverted away from his, still shy to look at him.
"It would be a lie to say I'm okay when I'm not... But I have to be, since feeling awful was probably what she would have wanted me to feel. It's just— hearing others speak of her so kindly after the things she's done to me and dad... It feels like I'm hearing the tales of a completely different person," Aine replies and Draco caresses her cheeks, spreading warmth across them with his touch.
"You don't have to be. It's okay to not be okay about this. You have every right to be and if someone ever blames you for it, I'll hex them," he promises, fire in his eyes. Draco had meant his words. Aine's eyes gaze back into his again and she chuckles at his statement. He shot her a wink, "And not to be on her side, but perhaps she has a reason for her departure. Perhaps, it may be for the best. And sometimes the best one can do is to leave."
Aine ponders on his words, taking in the advice. Well, perhaps what he said was right. Maybe there was a plausible reason for her mother to leave, and Aine prayed that he was right. "Well, I'm lucky to have you, M'lord," she added, genuinely thankful.
"Of course, M'lady," Draco replies and Aine giggles at him again, her heart fluttering. They moved closer to the railings, still in a tight embrace that neither seemed to mind. She casually leans back onto Draco as he snuggles his head on her shoulders from behind. Aine looks back up to the sky, letting the summer wind relax her heating face as she plays it cool, not daring to look at the blonde boy next to her for a moment in fear that she may lose a few more heartbeats for him.
The moment Aine adverted her attention to the skies, it was Draco's turn to stare. He watches as the girl's shiny raven locks flowed gracefully to the side when the wind blew past. Her hair was longer than before and it had grown past her chest now, and yet even though it was a little messy, she still looks pretty in his eyes. It seems after a couple of weeks of not seeing Aine, she had matured into a beautiful lady and Draco only wonder how much prettier was she going to become. He wasn't sure if he could handle seeing her getting any lovelier and the thought of other guys getting appealed to her beauty annoyed him. Draco gulped, tearing his sight away from the girl and up to the air above where Aine had raised her hand in an attempt to touch the skies.
"The stars are really beautiful tonight," she commented, trying to gauge the distance between her fingers and the stars. "My dad used to tell me that we are all part of the skies and our souls are the stars. And when we live till the end and die, our bodies return to where they came from. When we die... We return to shine through the night and look over our loved ones on Earth, as stars," she added, her eyes softening at the million stars that only winked at her.
Draco simpers, "I think that's a wonderful saying," he said, reaching his hand out to grasp the stars. The stars are beautiful tonight, he thought to himself and his stretched hand accidentally touches Aine's and they started to bicker with it.
"I'm sure you'll return to your own constellation when you pass," she winks to him and he smirks.
"What? Because I have the same name as it?" he asks, not buying the pun.
Aine shrugs, "Maybe? Yeah, I guess."
"I'm sure we get to choose where we want to be placed in the skies," he chuckles and she snickers.
"Well then, I hope we will be close even when we return to the sky as stars!" she casually chimed and Draco blushed at her comment, he stole a glance at her, only to find her not realizing what she had just said.
When the night slowly deepens, Aine and Draco decided to head back indoors as the temperature was dropping and it was getting even more chilly. Draco had walked Aine back to her room even though it was next door and before they bid each other goodnight, Aine held Draco back by tugging on his sleeves.
She quickly rushes to her trunk and pulls open it, taking the little gift she had made for her friend. Draco raises a brow at her when she handed him the present, "What's this?" he asks.
"It's just a little something I made with Luna. Thought you might like it, even though it may not look luxurious to your liking..." Aine tells him, chuckling as he eyes at the little box.
"May I open it now?" he inquired, excited to receive a gift from Aine.
"Sure... If you like!"
Smiling, he lifted the small silver box open and he squints at the paperweight. He picks it up and marvels at it in the light, letting out a small gasp when he notices the blue rose preserved in resin. "Wow..."
"Do— Do you like it..?" Aine questions, studying his expression.
Draco slowly nodded, looking at it from all directions as the little glitter twinkles like the star when the light reflects off it, "I do." He turns to Aine and smiles, "Thank you, Aine. I'll treasure it very much."
"I'm glad you like it!" she sheepishly answers, glimpsing the pinkness on Draco's face. She blushes before awkwardly bidding him 'Goodnight' and closing the door of her room suddenly after he bids her the same. When the door shuts, she slumps to the wooden floors, her heart beating awfully quick and loud.
Aine cups her cheeks, eyes widened at her gushing shyness. She recalls the warm embrace from Draco and how much she enjoyed the stargazing session she had with him, even though it was pretty much like any of her astronomy lessons. The image of Draco gazing into her eyes flickered past her mind and she snickers to herself, covering her face as she giggled.
Then she wondered, had she been too harsh in closing the door on him earlier? She cursed to herself, realizing how silly she must have looked. So, she opens the door once more, peeking out to see whether he was still there. Yet, to her surprise, Draco had already left.
Of course, he did...
Dejected, Aine slowly closes back the door and walks to the bed where she blankly sat and that night, she couldn't stop thinking about her feelings.
~~~
Aine's time with the Malfoys elapsed quickly. She spent the next day mainly trying out Narcissa Malfoy's brewed tea, chatting with her and spending time with Draco learning about stars from him and him learning potions from her along with walking around the manor's greenhouse. And although she managed to bond with the mother-son duo, Lucius Malfoy was nowhere to be seen except during breakfast and dinner as he had always told them he was busy with ministry 'affairs'. Though Aine pretty much knew his dislike of her, he kept his stern, antisocial demeanour around her.
It was only the evening of the day where she would finally go home that Lucius Malfoy turned up, wearing his usual black cloak above his suit, his long platinum locks slapping the pillar as he turned to the sitting room where Aine, his son and wife were talking together. The laughter died down when he entered and Draco quickly sat upright, meeting the eyes of his father who squinted at him. Draco gulped and Aine gently taps his hand to calm him down, she offered a smile to him and he slowly loosens up a little.
"Good evening, Mr Malfoy," Aine greeted him cheerfully and he clicks his tongue, looking away.
"Good evening," he managed to spit out, walking towards the nearest artefact on one of the columns to inspect it.
"Would you like to join us for tea, my love?" Narcissa asks sweetly and Lucius grunts to her.
"There is no need for me to join, I rather not," he said lowly, shooting Aine a look.
"Are you sure, father? Mother has made enough tea for all of us," Draco said.
Lucius snaps to his son, "I know, Draco. I can decide that for myself," he insisted and Draco looks away, his confidence dropping.
Aine's eyes narrowed at Lucius, staring straight at him and the Malfoy head glares at her. She wondered what did she do to make him despise her so much that he always seem like an aggressive dog snarling at her, silently wishing to attack her if his son or wife wasn't there. However, the longer she stared at him, she found herself glimpsing at a vision with a surrounding she knew all too well.
The graveyard where Harry and Cedric got transported to in the final task of the Triwizard Tournament appeared before her eyes, flashing like a picture slideshow. The dark burial ground filled with mist and coldness, and not long later, a group of masked people appeared through a black fog, the same kind that she had seen during the Quidditch World Cup. Deatheaters.
Her eyes looked around and she landed on one man who was slightly taller than the rest of the masked beings, a hint of light hair peeking out from the pointy hood and she squints through the mask. He had looked oddly familiar.
Then she found her eyes staring at the one and only Dark Lord. Aine shivered as she looked at the snake-like being before the pair of icy blue eyes locked on hers, causing her to flinch and snap to reality.
When she was back, her fingers began to tremble and she hides them with her other hand and Draco caught sight of her unusual behaviour. Aine noticed that Lucius had already looked away and walked past her to his wife.
What was that? Another vision..?
She started to calm herself down after the image of Voldemort flooded back into her mind, making her stare blankly at her tea.
"It seems that your friend has a habit of getting himself into trouble, Miss Estoileon. Not to mention, giving the people around him trouble cleaning up after him. Though, I'm not sure he'll be able to get out of this one as easy as he did before," Lucius snickers, sitting down next to his wife and drinking her tea from her cup. Narcissa eyes him like a hawk before he reaches for his own.
Aine tilted her head, confused. Who got into trouble again? She thought to herself, mentally wishing it wasn't Harry James Potter since neither would Hermione nor the Weasleys would get in trouble, after all, the gingers had Molly Weasley. "What's that supposed to mean? Is there a problem, Mr Malfoy?" she asks calmly.
Lucius chuckles to himself, leaning back to the emerald leather couch, "Not at all, Miss Estoileon. Not that it is any of your concern. I suggest that it would be wise to stop mixing yourself and your family with those filthy little blood traitors," he spat the words, pulling a nerve in Aine. "Wouldn't want to taint your precious pure blood with such dirt, would you?" he added with amusement.
Draco took a deep breath and Narcissa remained quiet, looking down and not interfering while Aine's breath hitches and she plastered a smirk on her face. Her trembling fingers dug their nails into her palms. "Is that a threat, sir?"
Lucius grins, enjoying her reaction. "It's a warning, dear Estoileon," he stated and Aine's lips twitched. He seems really eager to start a fight, huh?
"Perhaps you should distance yourself from your dirty little friends before my son gets tainted by yours," Lucius advised and Draco jumped up, unable to take it any longer.
He hated seeing his father call out to his friend like that, mixing harshness into his soft-spoken words just like concealing poison in a sweet candy, "Father!"
"Sit down, Draco," Lucius seethes and the boy freezes, itching to say another word. Aine tugs onto Draco's sleeves and he looks at her, apologetic and exasperated. She smiles at him and shakes her head, even for a little, she was glad that there was someone who would feel angry for her.
"It's okay," she mouths to him and he let out a shaky breath, slowly sitting back down.
The girl recomposes herself and looks to Lucius, her golden pupils curling up like her lips. "Of course, Mr Malfoy. I'll take that into consideration," she replies sweetly, her voice cold and there was some venom laced in her tone. However, Lucius merely grins at her, his eyes never faltering from glaring in her direction and Draco
The time came when she finally had to bid the Malfoys goodbye. She gathered her trunk by the fireplace and looked at the three faces one more time, ignoring Lucius's face. Narcissa gave her a big tight hug and caressed her cheeks, gazing at her face one more time, "I hope you enjoyed your time here, dear."
Aine nodded, smiling at her, "I certainly did. Thank you for being so welcoming and for the wonderful meal and tea, Mrs Malfoy. I hope you liked the flowers," she said, her eyes glancing to the still blooming blue rose by the table.
Narcissa giggles, "Of course, dear. Send my regards to your father. I hope to see you and him soon, and Aion too."
"I will!"
Draco then takes a step toward Aine and Narcissa stepped back with her husband, who was still glaring straight into Aine's soul. The girl pretended to not give it any notice. Draco smirks at her and she mirrors his curling lips, "See you soon, love," he bids, giving her a friendly hug and whispering the last word softly and Aine's heart thumped. She could hear Narcissa tittering to herself from behind and Lucius's usual tongue clickings.
"Thank you, Draco. See you soon, love," Aine whispered back and she felt his heartbeat faster before pulling away, getting shy from her choice of words, it just came out without her knowing why. She watches his eyes widen for a brief second before he squeezes her hand, nodding his head.
She stepped into the fireplace and with her single baggage in one hand, she grabs the floo powder in another, "Thank you for your hospitality and see you soon," she bids. Aine scans the manor one last time before looking at the three Malfoys, locking her eyes on Draco.
"Estoileon cottage," she called and threw the powder down before the green flames embraced her. Her view of the Malfoys slowly faded away, and Draco's smile was replaced by the warm fire before the view of her living room appears. Her father and brother stood side by side and welcomed her home.
"I'm back!" she cheers joyfully but instead of receiving a warm bright welcome home, their faces were grim and unsmiling.
"What? What did I do?" she asks and Aion frowns at her.
"Did I do something wrong?" Aine asks again, growing concerned with the awkward silence. She looks at them both with suspicions. "I swear I didn't do anything, dad! I slept early even at the Malfoys'."
Elliot sighs and gave his daughter a tight embrace, he brushes off the remaining floo powder from her clothes and said, "We were about to go get you, sweetheart."
"Get me? Why? To where?" Aine questions.
"To Twelve Grimmauld Place," Aion answers and she raises a brow.
"What place now?"
Elliot gave her a small smile, "To the Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix."
Aine's eyes widened, she was puzzled. She had just come back home and they'd already told her two new terms that she has never heard before in her life. "What— Why?"
The two men exchanged looks before landing their gaze on Aine, Aion took the initiative to reveal to her after a long deep breath.
"Harry Potter has been expelled from Hogwarts."
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12 Grimmauld Place, here we go! I'm so excited yall! Kinda bumped that OC x Draco moment had to stop for now for the story to progress but I assure you! Their moments will come again soon in the subsequent chapters, so please continue to read on with anticipation. The next chapter will be filled with the return of some familiar characters so I can't wait for you guys to see the reunion and moments together!
In that ending scene, do you guys ever experience coming home with your family just completely glum-looking and you always wonder what mistakes or troubles have they know now of you? I certainly do. ;-;
Anyways, my part-time job finally started and hell it was hectic af. The number of notes I had to remember was just blowing my mind (it's a miracle I could still remember them all) and I'm already anxious and stressed. I hope that all goes well and that I'll be able to get a hang of this job because I'm actually really excited about this one... Though it just scares me whenever I have to meet new people and actually talk to them. Fingers crossed I'll get through this! ><
- Zeneria