"million little stars"
Draco covered her eyes with his hands, "it's a surprise," he said as he guided her into the Room of Requirement. He had been working on it for days, ever since Astoria had been in the Hospital Wing. Draco had read countless books, he had even consulted Professors, and eventually, he had created the perfect spell.
Similar to what he had been able to do in the common room, Draco had projected an image of the stars on the ceiling. He had created a makeshift muggle Planetarium, plastering the glowing images across the rounded roof of the Room of Requirement.
"So, I remember you mentioned how you hadn't a chance to attend Astronomy Club much this year, and then that night a few weeks ago," he trailed off, grinning at the memory. "I remember you said you wanted to see the stars, but the sky wasn't that clear...so I made it clearer." He removed his hands from her eyes, "happy birthday Astoria." He took a step back, his eyes locked onto her as she took it all in.
"Oh Draco!" Exclaimed Astoria as she looked up, catching a glint of the sparkling stars in the corner of her eyes. "This is wonderful," she felt emotional, feeling a tear already forming in the corner of her eyes.
He took her hand once more, leading her onto the picnic blanket in the middle of the wall. Once they were both relaxed, he lifted his arms to the sky, "look, that one is called Draco," he grinned, pointing at the blue-white stars and tracing them. "It looks like a dragon, or a serpent... and I did some reading-"
Astoria laughed, "of course you did, I'm assuming on just the star with your name?"
"Obviously," he chuckled, "it's supposed to be the guardian of the star that never moves-"
"The celestial pole," Astoria finished for him.
"Yes, and in muggle Greek mythology, they believed that the pole was the doorway between the mortal world and eternity, so Draco protects it. They used to believe that the dragon was a was a Laden, a monstrous beast with a hundred heads chosen by Hera to guard the golden apples of immortality. These apples grew in the garden Hesperides, beyond the River of Time in the land of death."
"Did you learn all of that, for me?" She glanced over at his smug looking face with a grin.
He nodded, "I thought I should at least try and impress you, considering you already know about the stars - I learnt about the best constellation."
"Best?" She quizzed him, "I wouldn't say so. I prefer Cassiopeia," she took his hand, reaching up to the sky and pointing at the 'w' shape in the sky. "It's made up of Epsilon, Ruchbah, Gamma, Schedar, and Caph." she traced the smaller stars with her dainty fingers. "You know, it was named after Queen Cassiopeia?"
Draco nodded along, he had no idea, but Astoria appeared so enthralled, encapsulated by the stars and it filled him to the brim with pride. "Who was that?" He asked her, simply wanting to hear her talk again.
"I'm glad you asked," she smiled brightly, and to him, she outshone the stars. "Cassiopeia was the wife of King Cepheus," she moved her hand to the top of the constellation, "see that right there? It represents him. Anyway, she boasted that she was more beautiful than Nereids - these are sea nymphs and Poseidon, the God of the sea, he wanted to punish her for it. Poseidon sent Cetus, a sea monster-"
"Where's that one?"
Astoria led his hand to the bottom of the cluster, "see those, right there?" She traced the monster's body, "that right there is his head, and then this," she followed the shape, "is his body. So then, Cetus ravaged Cepheus' kingdom, so they called for help. In order to appease Poseidon, she had to sacrifice her daughter - Andromeda."
Draco gulped upon hearing the familiar name, "fuck," he called out. "Their daughter?"
"They chained her to a rock for Cetus, but someone saved her, Perseus," you can see the pair of them here." She showed him the glistening stars against the velvet sky, "even in death, they stayed together. "
He smiled, somehow, something that seemed too small to him, was so large to someone else. In the stars, something he would never have thought to look twice at, was an entire story, the entire lives of so many people.
"Poseidon condemned Cassiopeia to circle the celestial pole forever, so she is always there."
"How do you remember all that?" It was incredible how much she knew, "I spent days learning about the Draco constellation, and I still barely know anything about it!"
"I guess I'm just gifted."
He laughed, "you bet."
Astoria turned her head back to the sky, watching as the stars danced across the night sky. They flashed and flickered like Christmas lights, dangled around a tree and Astoria felt at home. It was just like the Christmas she had spent at Hogwarts, how it should have been, surrounded by friends.
It was as though God had tossed diamond dust into the sky, sharing part of the beauty with everyone, allowing the whole world to see it. The stars were more than just stars, they were beacons of hope for all the lost souls of the world.
"Isn't it amazing?" She thought out loud, fixated on the flashing pinpricks in a veil of darkness.
Draco murmured, "what is?"
"How beautiful they are. How somehow, lost in all the darkness are these luminous balls of gas and from here, they glow. All they are gas, but somehow, they make these incredible pearls amongst the velvet black. And how each star, it tells a story, a story of life, of love, of death." She was truly encapsulated by their image, everything about the sky made her heart flutter.
Draco slid his hands in hers, squeezing lightly, it just felt right to him in that moment. "Astoria-" he whispered in her ear, "look at me." He lifted her head to look at him, his hand on her chin causing butterflies filling both of their stomachs. "Can I?" He averted his eyes to her lips, watching as they parted in invitation.
She whispered back, "yes," as she leaned in closer to him.
Her lips were still sweet from the cupcake, sugar coating her soft lips. Warmth blossomed within them as they came together, a spark igniting between them. He could smell her perfume, the sweet smell of roses dancing through his system as he inhaled deeper, wanting more of her.
Clumsily, their heads bumped together, Draco angling his as he let himself press deeper into the kiss. He let his hands move from hers, losing themselves in her hair, but as he fell deeper into the kiss, Astoria pulled away.
"Wait-" she cut him off, "I-I should tell you something?"
"Is everything okay?" His voice was hurried, filled with nerves. "Do you need help? Are you okay?"
"Draco," she placed her hand on his shoulder, "I'm okay. I feel fine - good even."
He released the breath he didn't know he had been holding, "thank Merlin."
"I just need to tell you something, before this goes any further..."
"Do you," he paused, "do you want it to go further?"
She nodded, "but I don't know if you will, after this. I don't want you to get involved in something, when you don't know how it ends."
"How it ends?"
"I have a blood curse." She said it out loud, the first time it had ever been shared with someone other than a Greengrass. "Years ago, one of my ancestors was cursed, they were cursed with a blood malediction that killed them. And it got passed down to me."
"Oh Astoria," he sighed softly.
"It will kill me too," she gulped, "one day. I don't know when, but eventually it will. It could be months, it could be years, but my story will end." She wiped away a glistening tear, "that's why I like the stars so much. I hope that, maybe one day, I too could be up there."
"Astoria," he rubbed away her tears with his hand, "your story will always be remembered, you will always be in the stars to me. Any time I see Cassiopeia, I will think of you." He nodded up at the gleaming constellation, "it doesn't matter to me that your story might end, everyone's will. It just means we have less time, but any time with you is a blessing."
His words melted her like honey, her heart sinking deeper into her chest. "Draco, really?" She stifled a weak sob, "you mean that?" She had never told anyone about the blood curse, she hadn't wanted to be treated differently, she didn't want to be babied, treated as though she was weak when she wasn't.
"I mean it," he leaned in, kissing Astoria in a way she had never been kissed before. He let his hands roam freely through her hair, pressing his warm body against hers, letting themselves become one.
Finally, Astoria felt like she belonged. All along, she had been searching for a place, when her home, was in fact a person.
"Draco, Astoria!"
The pair pulled apart, Draco staring angrily at Blaise Zabini, who stood with a frown on his face. "Now is not the time!" Draco motioned to the rather compromising position he was in.
"Millicent Bulstrode is dead."
And just as quickly as the happiness had been created, it was eagerly snatched away.