As Noah walked through the halls, he vaguely tried to remember what the hell he was thinking when he started this journey. For one, he wasn't the best at sneaking around at night, considering he'd only done it once and that had been with Pansy. He kept on expecting Filch and his horrible cat to pop out from around the corner.
Noah finally made it to the Hospital Wing, and paused outside of the open doors. He didn't remember where Madame Pomfrey slept and hoped that she didn't sleep in the actual Wing.
Draco was the only inhabitant at the moment, so he didn't have to worry about waking anyone else up. Noah froze. What if Draco was asleep? He'd have to wake him up. And then what? Hey Draco sorry for interrupting your much needed sleep but Pansy said you're head over heels for me haha and I was wondering if that's true. That sounded stupid. He paused a few feet away from Draco's bed and was about to turn around and leave when a voice stopped him.
"Noah?" It was Draco. Noah winced and spun to face him.
"Hi, Draco." Noah shifted his weight awkwardly. Not knowing what else to do, he stuck out his hand and presented Draco with his essay. "I wrote your essay for you."
Draco blinked twice. "What essay?"
"Charms," Noah answered, looking down.
"Oh!" Draco sat up. "Right. Thanks."
"It was no problem," Noah replied, subconsciously flexing his wrist to get rid of the cramps that were no longer there. They stared at each other in silence.
Draco was wearing his light blue striped pyjamas and the moonlight shone off of his pale hair. In the minimal light, Noah could just make out the bridge of his nose and the curve of his cupid's bow. He realized he was holding his breath, and promptly exhaled.
"I'm not seeing anyone," Noah told him. "Despite what Pansy said."
"Oh," Draco breathed, a small smile forming on his face. "Do you want to go to the Astronomy Tower?" he asked Noah, swinging his legs over the side of the bed, sliding on his slippers. "My constellation is sort of visible."
The corner of Noah's lips quirked up into a smile, and he followed Draco through the doors. His question burned at the back of his throat, but he pushed it down and forced it to wait. They had the whole night, no point in rushing it.
They walked slowly and in silence. Draco limped a little but he'd assured Noah he was fine and could walk on his own. They finally made it to the Astronomy Tower, and Draco had finally accepted Noah's help to go up the stairs.
"Why's there so damn many?" Draco grumbled, wincing as he went up. Noah chuckled and adjusted his grip on Draco to make it easier for him.
They walked over to the edge and Draco sat down with no hesitation, dangling his feet over the edge. Noah sat down hesitantly. He didn't go up there often, and he certainly didn't go to the edge and dangle his limbs off.
"I used to come here a lot," Draco said after a moment of silence. "When I couldn't sleep."
Noah turned his head to look at him. Draco stared at the sky, head tilted backwards. His eyes looked like liquid silver in the moonlight. Beautiful, Noah thought.
"You said you'd show me the constellation." Noah shuffled closer to Draco. Draco laughed, his eyes crinkling at the corners, and Noah could almost believe that they were just a couple of normal people stargazing. Not a suspected Death Eater and a liar.
"Look." Draco pointed up at the sky, in what Noah assumed to be the general area of the constellation. "Do you see it?"
Noah saw stars. Normal stars. No pattern what so ever. "No," he said after a moment of hard looking. "Nothing."
Draco laughed again. "You were always shit at Astronomy."
"Shut up," Noah said, no real bite behind the words. He shuffled closer to Draco until the sides of their bodies were touching. "Show me again."
So Draco pointed again, and again Noah just saw normal stars. "I literally don't see anything," he groaned, burying his face in the crook of Draco's neck. Draco laughed again, and reached over to ruffle Noah's hair.
"Loser," he crooned affectionately. He slung an arm over Noah's shoulders. "Don't worry, it took me a while to find it, too. My mom says that even though it's so big, it's not so prominent. You have to look closer to find it."
Noah thought about how that applied to Draco as well. He glanced up at the side of the blond's face, taking in the dip of his cupid's bow and the sharp curve of his jaw. They were silent for a while, before Noah spoke. "Draco," he started. "I spoke with Pansy tonight." He felt Draco tense up. "About you. And your... feelings. Um, towards me. About your feelings in relation to me," Noah awkwardly clarified (in relation to me?? He thought. really Noah??), desperately hoping Draco would get what he was referring to and that he wouldn't have to quote Pansy.
Draco said nothing for a while, and Noah thought he had ruined everything, until Draco removed his arm. "I understand if you don't want to be my friend anymore." Noah watched Draco's jaw set after he spoke the words, as if steeling himself for a brutal rejection.
"What?" Noah asked, confused. He removed his head from Draco's shoulder and pulled away so he could get a better look at the blond's face. Neither of them spoke.
He stared at Draco, trying to gauge his emotional state. It was clear he was starting to shut down. He thought Noah wouldn't want to be his friend anymore, because of what Pansy had said. Assuming they were both talking about the same thing. Noah hoped they were, otherwise he might be seriously misreading the situation.
"Noah," Draco started, voice low and breaking Noah out of his staring session. "Why do you do that?"
"Do what?" Noah asked, even though he knew what Draco was going to answer.
"Look at me so much." He kept his gaze on the view in front of them.
Noah knew the answer. Instead he asked, "Draco?"
"Yeah?"
Noah took a deep breath. "Can I kiss you?"
Noah swore time stopped as Draco's head turned to meet his eyes. It was now he'd find out if his feelings were reciprocated. He watched with bated breath, as Draco just stared at him, most likely trying to figure out if he was joking or not. Draco's eyes flickered downwards to his lips.
"Yeah," Draco breathed. "You can."
Noah could feel his heart trying to hammer out of his chest. He leaned in until he could feel Draco's breath ghost across his face. He looked at Draco eyes and then back down to his lips, silently asking once more if he wanted this. Draco closed his eyes and cupped Noah's jaw in response, leaning in until their lips finally met.
It was soft and sweet and the best thing Noah had ever experienced in his sixteen years of living. He wasn't quite sure what to do with his hands, his weird burst of confidence from earlier disappearing and leaving him suddenly a bit nervous. He let them rest gingerly on Draco's arms. He leaned in more, deepening the kiss. His lips tingled and it felt like he was walking on moonlight. He'd imagined kissing Draco several times before, but none of his conjured scenarios compared to the real thing.
Noah felt Draco start to smile before pulling away. He rested his forehead against Noah's, each of them wearing stupid grins on their lips. Draco's cheeks were dusted with pink, and Noah felt a happy surge of warmth bubble up in his chest. Draco stroked Noah's cheek with his thumb.
"I like you," Noah whispered. "A lot."
"I like you, too," Draco whispered back. "But I thought that was obvious."
Noah laughed. Draco leaned in and kissed him again. It was shorter than the first, but Noah still felt like he was about to spontaneously combust.
Draco finally pulled away, leaning back on his hands and staring at the sky. Noah followed his movements.
"Hey!" he suddenly exclaimed, causing Draco to look at him. "Is that it there?" he pointed to a cluster of stars that looked like the head of a serpent, and then let his finger trace the body.
"Yeah," Draco laughed. "Maybe you're not that incompetent after all."
"Sorry, sir, not all of us can be named after constellations and be astronomy whizzes." Noah rolled his eyes playfully. Draco shot him another smile.
"How long have you, um, had feelings for me?" Draco asked.
Noah thought for a moment. "I don't know the exact moment I realized it. But for a while."
"Me too." Draco nodded, then another grin spread across his face. "Do you remember the Yule Ball?"
"Oh my god, don't remind me," Noah groaned. "We took Pansy and Daphne."
"It wasn't that bad," Draco chuckled. "I was actually thinking of asking you to go 'as friends' before I asked Pansy."
"Really?" Noah turned to look at Draco. "Why didn't you? I would have said yes."
"I couldn't take that risk," Draco grinned. "I also almost asked you to dance after I saw Finnigan and Thomas dancing. You know, as friends. But we were with our dates so I didn't."
"So in conclusion, we wasted two years because you chickened out of asking me to dance at a ball?" Noah asked incredulously.
"Hey, don't put it all on me!" Draco protested playfully. "You could have told me all the way back in that summer when you went to my house!"
"I didn't know how I felt back then," Noah told him. "Plus, with your father lurking around every corner, it didn't really set the mood." Noah regretted mentioning Draco's father as soon as he saw his face fall. "Sorry," he apologized.
"It's fine," Draco replied stiffly. "He made his choice."
"Right," Noah said, although he didn't quite understand what he was referring to. They fell into a comfortable silence after that, lying down on their backs as they watched the sky.
"Draco," Noah started, his voice small. "Do you think there's gonna be a war?"
Draco visibly swallowed. "I do."
Silence again.
"Noah?" Draco asked, his voice coming out higher than normal. "I'm scared."
"Me too," Noah said, because he was. He hadn't really let himself dwell on it before because the thought of a war wasn't exactly cheerful.
He wondered what it meant for him and his family. He knew that their secret couldn't stay hidden for long: somebody knew and they wouldn't keep quiet for much longer. It wouldn't be good when all the pureblood elitists found out that his dad had married a Muggleborn and ruined their family's image. Speaking of family, he wondered if his grandparents knew the truth.
They're from his dad's side, seeing as both of his mother's parents had died before him and Lexa were born. On the topic of deceased parents, he hadn't heard from them since his mother's death. They'd never liked her much, whether it was because they suspected she wasn't a pureblood or because of something else. Noah remembered hearing his dad and grandpa arguing rather loudly a couple days before he left for Draco's house that year.
They'd visited again later that year, during the Christmas break of fourth year.Then, his mother had fallen ill (poisoned, apparently) a couple days after his grandparents had left. Noah and his sister hadn't been present when she passed, neither of them being able to watch as the light left her eyes. His grandparents had obviously come to the funeral ceremony just to keep up appearances. They'd looked almost as out of place as Draco, who was attending the funeral of a woman he'd never met.
They weren't close, and Noah hadn't seen or heard from them since the funeral.
It was odd though, the proximity of his mother's death and their departure. They usually stayed at with Noah and his family for New Years too, but that year they'd left a few days after Christmas.
Someone poised her, Potter had said. They think it was probably someone close to your family.
Noah realized with a start that maybe that's why he hadn't heard from them after the funeral. Maybe they'd found out the truth and realized him and Lexa weren't purebloods. The thought made his stomach churn. He was being unreasonable. It couldn't have been them. Right? Obviously not, considering his grandpa had bought Noah his first owl and his grandma used to crochet him sweaters. He'd never put much thought into why they weren't in contact anymore. He'd been so preoccupied with his and his family's grieving, and then Cedric Diggory was murdered and Voldemort returned. He'd had bigger things on his mind than why his grandma didn't crochet him sweaters anymore.
Noah told himself he was being absurd, and that his pureblood supremacist grandparents didn't murder his Muggleborn mother. He'd have to talk to Lexa about it tomorrow, just for her to tell him he was being unreasonable.
"What do you think's gonna happen?" Draco asked. Noah had almost forgotten he was there.
"I don't know, Draco," Noah responded. "I don't know." He contemplated whether it was worth asking at a time like this, but while they were already on the topic of the brewing war, he thought it couldn't hurt.
"I ran into Potter," Noah said. "He said you tried to Crucio him."
Draco closed his eyes. "Not my finest moment."
"Yeah," Noah scoffed.
"I panicked," Draco told him. "But, now that I think about it, I don't think it would have worked. I mean, I despise Potter, but not to that extent."
"You think he's the Chosen One?" Noah asked. He wasn't quite sure what he believed, but so many strange, Voldemort related things had happened to Potter during their time at Hogwarts that it couldn't just be a coincidence. Maybe he really was their only hope, scary as that was.
"Yeah," Draco replied, his voice quiet. "I do."
"He told me you hexed Katie Bell," Noah said before he could stop himself.
"Noah, I already told you I had nothing to do with that," Draco groaned.
"Then tell me again," Noah demanded. "And look me in the eyes this time."
Draco paused for a moment, before turning on his side, mirroring Noah's position and meeting his gaze. "I didn't hex Katie Bell."
"Promise?" Noah asked. He felt stupid asking Draco to promise him something like this, but he had to make sure.
"Promise," Draco confirmed.
"Okay," Noah said. "I believe you." He slowly leaned in and kissed Draco again. Draco welcomed it, parting his lips so Noah could slip his tongue inside his mouth. Noah gripped the Draco's waist and pulled him closer.
It was more heated and passionate than the first two, and soon he had rolled on top of the blond. Noah leaned his forearms on either side of Draco's head as the latter gripped his waist under his pyjama shirt. Noah broke the kiss to kiss Draco's jaw, eventually moving down to neck.
Draco let out a soft moan and Noah felt himself start to get excited. He figured they should stop soon, because as much as he liked Draco, he didn't want to fuck him for the first time at school and on the floor.
"Noah," Draco panted as Noah lightly sucked on his neck. "Noah, we should stop."
Noah obliged, and stopped his actions. He sat up and realized why Draco said what he said. Draco was very excited, and Noah assumed he had the same reservations as he did about fucking on the floor.
Noah's eyes widened as he stared at Draco. Draco blushed and looked away, probably aware about what Noah had felt. Noah grinned a little and leaned down to peck his lips one last time before rolling off of him.
Noah laid on his side to face Draco, who eventually did the same thing.
"You know," Draco mused. "The floor was a lot more comfortable when you were straddling me."
Noah felt himself blush as he playfully shoved Draco's shoulder. The both sat up and took turns trying to conjure a mattress. It took longer than either of them would like to admit, but eventually Noah managed it, a huge smile spreading across his face at the mattress that had suddenly appeared in front of them.
Draco sighed contently and flopped down, immediately wincing. "You couldn't have made it comfier?"
"I could get on top of you again, maybe that would help?" Noah asked nonchalantly, relishing the way Draco blushed.
They eventually laid down on the admittedly thin mattress, on their sides again and facing each other. Noah watched Draco watch him, the latter's eyes flitting all over his face.
"I don't deserve you," Draco muttered quietly.
Noah furrowed his eyebrows and laughed, "What's that supposed to mean?" If anything, he was the one who didn't deserve Draco. Draco always ended up telling him the truth, while Noah, on the other hand, had been lying to his face for six years.
"I don't know," Draco said. "Never mind."
Noah smiled, leaning in and kissing him again. Draco kissed back, and Noah almost pinched himself to make sure this was real. He couldn't believe he lived in a world where Draco liked him back and he could kiss him and he would kiss back.
They broke apart and Noah rolled onto his back so Draco could snuggle into his side. They fell asleep eventually, under the watchful eyes of the stars.
😳
this chapter was so tricky to write bc i wanted to make sure i got it right
also bye kiss scenes are so hard for me to write?? if you cringed during any of those dw i cringed 10x more
n e wayz hope u enjoyed 🤪