**Warning : This chapter is really sappy and some might find it so sappy that it's cringe worthy ¯\_( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)_/¯ I dunno, so read at your own risk. Also, I don't really know much about astronomy, so don't attack me if it doesn't all make sense, thanks :)) Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter that I promised big things to happen in!! <3**
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It's been a few days since they last went out. Pansy, Blaise, Ginny, and Hermione got absolutely pissed; they were so drunk that Draco, Ron, Luna, and Harry had to basically carry them to the car where they all squeezed in. Their designated driver for the night was Draco who decided to only try a bit of some of the drinks, not really wanting to get drunk, and they also needed someone to drive them home, and neither Harry nor Luna could drive yet and Ron had drank a little too much to be driving.
The next morning, four of them woke up with horrible headaches, the rest a little hungover but not to the point that they felt sick. But it's been a few days since then so everyone is back to feeling normal again.
It's actually the 30th of July, meaning tomorrow is Harry's seventeenth birthday. Everyone had just said goodnight to Harry before heading off to their own rooms for the night, it was already pretty late and none of them wanted to be in a bad mood tomorrow from lack of sleep.
Harry and Draco headed to their room at the back of the house. The two of them got ready for bed in a peaceful silence, the sound of the soft waves crashing on the sand wafted through the open window in the room. Harry was tired, he couldn't deny it, but he'd always wanted to watch the sunrise on the beach and the closeness of it made it oh so tempting.
He knows the sun rises around 5:30am at this time of year, but should he stay up all night? Or wake up to watch it? Maybe Draco could go with him?
"G'night Haz, enjoy your last night being sixteen," Draco ruffled Harry's hair as they got comfy in bed, cuddled up together just because they could.
"Night," Harry smiled back, snuggling forwards into his boyfriend's chest.
Then it was quiet, aside from the sound of the deserted beach at night. It was already past 11pm at this point, so the town was quiet and so was the house. So quiet Harry feared he'd shatter it if he spoke. Luckily it was Draco who broke it.
"'S there anything in particular you want to do for your birthday?" He asked quietly. The silence returned, but only for a minute or so.
"I wanna watch the sunrise." Harry whispered back.
"But if you want to sleep then don't feel pressured to come," He then added, just to make sure Draco knew he wasn't obligated to do it just because Harry wants to.
Suddenly, the blonde was sitting up in bed. Despite the room being dark, only lit up by the moonlight coming in through the window, he looked down at the boy laying beside him. Scanning over him before seemingly coming to a conclusion.
"Follow me," He then whispered after placing a chaste kiss to Harry's lips and getting out of bed.
This sparked interest in Harry, so doing as he was told, also got out of bed and followed Draco out of their room. They seemed to be headed to the front of the house as Draco picked up a few things here and there like a big towel and his phone and keys.
A few minutes later, the couple were walking down the winding road that led them to the beach. Just like Harry had expected, the beach was completely deserted. It was about 11:45pm by now, so it wasn't like he was expecting it to be anything different.
Draco set the towel down on the sand right at the base of a gap in the sand dunes. Although it was summer, the light wind was ever so slightly chilly in the way that gave Harry goosebumps. Draco must have noticed, because he opened his arms invitingly, allowing Harry to cuddle up to him.
"Aren't we too early? The sun won't rise for a few hours still..." Harry pointed out quietly.
"Maybe, but I think we can make the most of the time while we wait for the sunrise. Don't you think?" Draco murmured back, enjoying the feeling of being out in the night and just being peaceful.
"Yea, I guess it is nicer than just lying in bed," Harry mumbled back, starting to actually take in the fact that he's here, on the beach, with Draco, in the middle of the night. Yeah, he could get used to this.
A few long blissful minutes passed before Draco checked his phone. It was like he had timed it perfectly because the time had just turned to 12:00am, meaning Harry was finally seventeen years old.
"Happy birthday, love." He whispered to Harry who turned in his arms to look up at him, a smile grazing on his features.
"Thanks," Harry almost giggled when Draco placed feather light kisses all over his face.
"How does it feel to be seventeen?" Draco teased, smirking a little.
"Oh it feels totally different! Yep, I feel loads older and more responsible, not to mention way stronger and taller, and definitely not innocent at all anymore." Harry joked back sarcastically, causing both of them to laugh softly.
"Stronger and taller you say?"Draco raised an eyebrow with a small smirk pulling at his lips.
"Mhm." Harry confirmed with a nod.
Without warning, Draco practically hefted him up into his arms, and before Harry knew it, he was being carried bridal style down the beach, right towards the water. He suddenly started to panic, he knew the water was going to be freezing cold, plus he was in his pyjamas and didn't really fancy them getting soaked in salty sea water.
"Dray- Draco! No- stop- put me down! Go back! No!" Harry complained but was also laughing the whole time as he wrapped his arms around the back of the blonde's neck, holding on for dear life as he walked into the water.
Suddenly, Draco seemed to remember that he also didn't really want to sit in cold wet pyjamas for the rest of the morning, and so turned back just a few metres, away from the gentle waves. He then put Harry down who took a few steps further back just to be safe from the cold water. Draco paid no mind to that though, stripping from his sweatpants and shirt until he was only in his briefs.
He then retraced his steps back into the water. It was cold for the first few seconds, but then he adjusted to the temperature and it didn't feel so freezing, it was almost a refreshing feeling. Though he noticed once he turned around, that Harry was still standing there on the beach, staring at him in disbelief.
"C'mon, Haz! It's really not that bad once you get in!" He called, holding his hand out in front of him in an inviting way.
Harry seemed to have a moment of doubt before he too stripped down to his briefs and more cautiously made his way into the water. He got to waist depth before Draco could reach him and pulled him forward. At this point Harry could just barely stand in the water, it being up to his shoulders as he clung onto Draco for dear life, his body like a koala around Draco's torso.
"It's so cold!" He whined as he shivered from the coolness of the ocean.
"Don't you dare let go of me," He then pleaded as Draco brought them a little deeper, he could still stand, but it was now too deep for Harry to stand and keep his head above the water.
"Wouldn't dream of it," Draco smiled before pulling Harry closer to him so they were chest to chest. The body heat warms Harry up a little more.
The two of them stayed like that for a bit, just floating in the water, still cuddled together. Harry's arms wrapped around Draco's shoulders and neck, while Draco looped his arms around Harry's waist. The smaller boy let his head rest in the crook of the blonde's neck, Draco's chin resting on top of the head of messy brown hair.
Once the ocean got a bit too cold for their liking, they made their way back up the beach, laying back on their large fluffy beach blanket, huddled together for warmth as the gentle breeze dried them off. They were lying on their backs, admiring the night sky that was filled with constellations, stars, planets, and more things than they could ever imagine.
"You see those stars up there," Draco started, earning a gentle nod from Harry.
He then raised his finger to point out one of the constellations.
"That one is the Canis Major." He said, pointing out one that looks a little like a sideways dog.
"You're godfather, Sirius, his name is the same as one of the stars in that constellation," Draco informed him.
"The Blacks were all named after stars and those types of things," Harry mentioned. He didn't know much about astronomy. Hardly knew anything about it, but he was always interested when it came up in a conversation.
"Really? What were the others called?" Draco asked. See, Draco on the other hand, knew a lot about astronomy, his mother was also named astronomically, and so was he. So, growing up, he naturally took an interest in this sort of stuff.
"Well, Sirius' younger brother was called Regulus," Harry thought out loud.
"Was?" Draco asked but regretted it the second he asked, knowing that it was probably a touchy subject.
"Um, he died when he was about seventeen. He and Sirius didn't get on very well for a lot of their life, but Sirius loved him so much, still does," Harry muttered, feeling emotional, but willing himself not to cry.
"Sorry for asking," Draco apologised.
"'S fine," Harry shrugged.
To try and change the mood a little, Draco tried to search for the Regulus star in the sky. He looked for the Leo constellation, which he then found the Regulus star.
"There he is," Draco whispered, pointing in the direction of the specific star.
"It's beautiful, it's so bright," Harry whispered back in awe as he admired the star.
"His star is part of the Leo constellation, that's your star sign." Draco informed.
"I think he's wishing you a happy birthday," The blonde then said light heartedly, earning a small giggle out of the boy who was tucked into his side.
"Thank you, Reggie," Harry said to the star, using the name he would hear Sirius, James, and Remus use for him while Harry was growing up. They didn't talk about him alot, knowing how upset it can make Sirius, but when they did, it was only about how much any of them loved him and how much of a good person he was, despite his and Sirius' differences.
It was quiet after that for a few minutes. Harry seemed to be deep in thought, and Draco wanted to give him time to think and process everything.
"Tell me more," Harry then whispered. "Please?" He asked, earning a soft smile from the blonde.
"Well, that one is the constellation Lupus, which is Latin for the word wolf." Draco stated.
"Like Moony," Harry muttered absentmindedly.
"Who?" Draco asked.
"Remus' nickname is Moony. My dad and his friends all had these nicknames growing up, and they kind of just stuck, so that's what I call them sometimes. Remus is Moony, Sirius is Padfoot, and my dad was Prongs." Harry explained.
"How did they manage to get those names?" Draco chuckled ever so slightly, knowing this might be hard for Harry, and sometimes, even in upsetting conversations, you need someone to be there to make light of the situation. That's what Draco did.
"Well, Moony came from the fact that Remus used to be obsessed with the moon and stuff when he was about eleven to fifteen, and also one time, when they were sixteen, Remus was so annoyed at this one person, that he mooned them. Besides, his first and last name both have something to do with a wolf or something which they then linked to the moon.That's how he got himself that nickname," Harry laughed quietly when recalling the story he had been told by the three friends.
"Isn't that something. I never would have expected him of all people to do something like that!" Draco laughed too.
"For Sirius, it was because one time, their other friend, Marlene, was on her period for the first time, and so her girlfriend, Dorcas, was showing her how to use pads. In a frustrated fit, Marlene ended up throwing pads all over their dormitory common room. They all went to boarding school together by the way, that's how they all met. Anyways, Sirius ended up coming in to see what the commotion was about, and accidentally got a pad stuck to his foot, and kind of freaked out because he was an awkward fifteen year old boy who hadn't seen pads before. Marlene, Dorcas, and my mum, Lily, were there to witness it. They kept teasing him after that, calling him 'Padfoot'. Eventually the name just stuck." Harry then explained how Sirius had gotten his nickname.
Draco didn't know how to respond to that before he burst out laughing. The Sirius he had met didn't seem like the fifteen year old boy in the story. He seemed almost overly confident and self assured now. No longer this awkward teenage boy that Harry spoke about. When Harry didn't elaborate on his dad's nickname, Draco knew not to ask. He knew it was a tough subject for his boyfriend, and he wasn't going to ruin this blissfully relaxing and happy moment by bringing up something so upsetting.
"Do you know any more stars or other stuff out there?" Harry then asked once the laughter had died down.
"Well, that one over there is actually Jupiter," He pointed out yet another star.
"Woah, I didn't know you could see planets like that from here!" Harry whispered in awe as he tried to focus his eyes on the tiny glowing blob in the sky that was apparently Jupiter.
"Mhm," Draco nodded, admiring how Harry reacted to all of this new information.
"And you see that one over there," Draco pointed to another constellation.
"Yea," Harry whispered softly even though it was a rhetorical question.
"That one's mine." Draco whispered back, just as softly.
"The Draco constellation?" Harry asked.
"Mhm, but I was only minding it for someone, it actually belongs to someone else..." Draco started.
"Who?" Harry wondered, a little confused but nonetheless interested.
"Someone who deserves the whole solar system and milky way and everything beyond that, who deserves the moon and stars and more," Draco thought out loud, almost whimsically.
"Who is it?" Harry asked again, hoping he'd learn the name of this mystery person who 'owns' the cluster of stars.
"My mother told me this when I was really young. Said that I was named after this special thing that watches over us always, that protects us and keeps us safe and happy. She told me that when I'm older I'd find the person who owns my constellation. In other words, the person who owns my heart." Draco smiled to himself as he remembered the melancholic memory. This time Harry didn't ask who, he knew he would be told if he was patient, and he was slowly putting the pieces together.
"I know who my person is now, Harry. I love them so much. More than I ever thought I could love someone, and I know that sounds cliché, but it's true. He's so wonderful, bubbly, beautiful, resilient and strong, it makes me want to scream sometimes. I can't believe I'm lucky enough to have them in my life." Harry looked up at Draco as he spoke, noticing the blonde's eyes as they got glassy, reflecting the moonlight that shone into them as he looked off into the distance, quite literally into space.
"So I hope you won't mind it if I ask you to take care of my constellation for me. Our constellation... if you'll have it." Draco finally looked at those gorgeous green eyes in front of him.
Harry shocked himself when he burst out into tears. He hadn't expected anything like this to ever happen to him, even in his most sappy and romantic fantasies. He'd heard every word Draco had said, each one prying away at the metal casing around his heart that had first appeared in the hardest time in his life. He'd slowly been working on breaking apart this emotional barrier he had created, and here Draco was, breaking it to smithereens in a matter of minutes. After his parents died, Harry subconsciously started to refuse himself of emotional attachments. They scared him. Made him fear that one day they'd be ripped away from him like they had once before. He couldn't go through that again, so he refused himself of feeling those things deprived himself of them. Learned to ignore them, and suppress them. But now that they were knocked down, pulled to the ground, he felt exposed, raw, and had all these built up emotions he hadn't allowed himself to express for so long. Of course he let himself feel some things, otherwise he wouldn't have his friends or be dating Draco, but it's part of the reason why he was always so nervous, cautious or seemingly shy in their relationship and also just around other people. He couldn't trust himself not to get too attached. As the heavy tears rolled down his cheeks, he couldn't tell whether they were sad ones or happy ones. To many emotions being mixed right now.
"Don't cry, my darling," Draco comforted as he cupped Harry's face, wiping away his tears as they came streaming from his watery emerald eyes.
"You're such a sap!" Harry cried, his mouth in a smile, but his eyes were red rimmed and wet with salty tears as he playfully thumped a fist against Draco's chest, it wouldn't have hurt because Harry would never intentionally hurt Draco, but there was also no power behind it, as if his muscles had give in.
Draco sort of expected a reaction like this, and he knew Harry didn't do it to be violent. Knew that Harry needed to get stuff out of his system, and he was fully prepared to be there with him the whole way.
"Of course I'll take care of your stupid star- constellation thing!" He continued to cry but now realised they were happy tears, and that also made Draco smile back at him, a mixture of tears and light laughter between the two.
"And...I love you too." He was finally able to admit out loud as he buried his face into Draco's chest. Draco was the first to say it, but that didn't make it any less nerve wracking when it was Harry's turn to say it.
Draco ran his fingers through Harry's curly brown mess of hair, and sighed a breath of relief. He didn't tell Harry he loves him with the expectation that he would say it back immediately because he knows some people need their own time and love develops at a different pace for everyone, but the hope was still there, that he would more or less say it right back, and it all turned out to be exactly as he hoped it would be, minus the crying, but he was completely fine with dealing with an emotional Harry. He'd signed up for it, so there's no going back now anyways.
Harry cried and cried until he had no more energy left. It had probably been an hour before he finally sat up from where he lay on Draco's chest, and wiped his eyes to rid them of his tears. By now it had to have been just barely two in the morning, and both boys were beyond tired, especially Harry, after having his massive spill of emotions.
They decided to try and sleep for a bit and wake up when the sun rose, so Draco set an alarm on his phone for five in the morning, before the two of them snuggled up again on their blanket, laying there in a peaceful silence.
"I really mean it," Draco whispered, half asleep already.
"Mm," Harry mumbled back, he too was barely awake.
"You really are the person who makes me happiest, the person I love most." Draco sighed happily, relieved he could finally say it out loud.
"I love you too, you make me feel nice and warm, safe." Harry whispered against Draco's side where he lay, wrapped in the boy's arms.
"Happy birthday, I love you." Draco said for the final time, before both of them dropped off to sleep. He couldn't get enough of saying it. It was like a drug, and he was addicted.
They ended up waking up just in time to share a few kisses before the sun rose over the horizon. It was even better than Harry had ever imagined, especially because he got to share it with the love of his life.
Once Harry was satisfied with the sunrise and had shared one too many kisses with Draco, the two gathered their stuff and went back to the house. A few hours later they could be found sleeping peacefully in a tangle of bare limbs, buried under their ruffled duvet. Good thing their room is at the back of the house, so hopefully no one was woken up by them. The festivities hadn't even properly begun, and Harry had already gotten three perfect presents. A declaration of love, the experience of watching the sunrise, and the first of many experiences that include his boyfriend and a bed, turns out turning seventeen did make Harry less innocent.
Yep, best birthday by far.
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AAA I hope you liked it and didn't die of cringy romantic-ness ;)
Anyways, I hope you're having a lovely evening/night/morning/day, and I love you soooooo much <33