May was upon them, and Slytherin played the fifth Quidditch game in the inter-house cup against Hufflepuff. She was stood in the Gryffindor stand, next to her friends, as they watched. They cheered for Hufflepuff, but secretly she wished for a green and silver win.
He was sat on his Nimbus 2001 broom, soaring high in the sky as he searched for the tiny golden snitch. Hufflepuff's seeker Summerby was hovering underneath him. The game was ongoing, and intense as the scores between the two houses were almost even, but she found herself hardly focusing on everyone that flew around the Quidditch pitch. Her eyes went to him, and she watched him as he swooshed by in his green and silver robes.
However, Hufflepuff ended up narrowly defeating Slytherin. And she pretended to be happy.
Later that night she met Draco at the top of the astronomy tower to look at the stars, and she rested her head on his shoulder as she listened to him speak about the day that had passed.
"I almost had the snitch, then that Summerby kid swooped in from underneath me and almost knocked me off my broom, stupid Hufflepuff"
"Calm down Draco" she laughed stroking his cheek "you barely lost, you did great, I was impressed by you"
"You're just saying that" he muttered.
"No Draco I mean it, I was honestly impressed by you today, I always am"
"Thank you Ellie"
A few similar nights passed, just the two of them underneath the stars up at the top of the tower. She was fascinated by the stars in the night sky, and he needed somewhere to breathe fresh air so they often sneaked out at midnight to meet in secret. Their nights usually ended in them running through the dark stone hallways hand in hand, hiding from Filch before he dropped her off with a simple goodbye outside of the Gryffindor common room. She usually hid behind a suit of armor as she watched him slip away into the dark night.
The sixth and last Quidditch match of the year gathered the school once more at the Quidditch pitch. It was a warm late May day and Gryffindor was playing against Ravenclaw. The Ravenclaw team walked onto the pitch led by their captain and chaser Roger Davies. Cho Chang, the team's seeker, was stood in the back holding onto her broom with a firm grip. Nothing had really been the same for her since the day the Dumbledore's Army got caught.
The Gryffindor team walked onto the Quidditch pitch, and she cheered loudly. The team captain and chaser Angelina Johnson led every player dressed in scarlet. Behind her came the chasers Alicia Spinnet and Katie Bell, and behind them came the keeper Ron and the beaters Andrew Kirke and Jack Sloper who had replaced the Weasley twins since their departure from the school.
After antagonizing Umbridge with pranks for weeks both Fred and George felt done with school, and decided that it was time for them to leave. Ginny had tried to convince them to stay, mentioning over and over again that they only had three months left and they should just stick them out. Convincing the twins to do something that they didn't want to do proved to be hopeless however, and in April, just before the Easter break they had announced that their future laid outside of the academic world. The school, especially the Gryffindor common room, echoed empty without them and their organized chaos.
Ginny Weasley was the last one to enter the Quidditch pitch. Harry had asked her to substitute for him as seeker, seeing as he hadn't been sleeping a lot during the last week. Something was going on with him, he looked distraught and restless all the time. He seemed consumed with thoughts and nightmares.
It was a nice day with bright sun and clear skies. The game was a interesting one, and she watched as the Ravenclaw chaser Roger Davies scored the first goal. Ron was quite excellent during the whole game, blocking quaffle after quaffle. Ginny and Cho, who were both brilliant seekers, raced for the snitch but Ginny managed to catch it in the end. She held it up proudly, and the whole Gryffindor stand erupted with loud cheers. They had just won the inter-house Quidditch cup.
The Gryffindor common room was lit up with bright smiles and loud laughter as she walked into it. Everyone seemed to be celebrating, and she joined in for a while, happily bantering about every moment from the game with her friends.
At midnight she sneaked out of the common room, tiptoeing up to the top of the astronomy tower to see him, the pale Slytherin boy that made her heart nervously skip a beat.
He was already there when she climbed the last steps of the staircase. He was facing away from her, gazing out at the scenery before them. His eyes seemed to be looking at every single star on the night sky, and his hands gripped onto the railing like he thought he was about to fall off.
"Hi" she said softly, walking up to him and laying her hand on his shoulder.
He jumped slightly before he turned around to face her.
"Hi" he mumbled.
"How are you?" she questioned, observing his pale features.
"I'm good" he said, nodding his head "what about you? I imagine you to be overjoyed, your house just won the house cup"
"Yeah that feels great" she said with a smile.
He nodded his head, and his eyes wandered around the walls of the tower.
"I'm glad for you" he mumbled, looking back at her for a moment.
"Hey" she said, stepping up closer to him with furrowed eyebrows "you seem distant, what's wrong?"
"Nothing is wrong Ellie" he smiled, trailing his fingertips along her arm "nothing is wrong"
"Then what's going on inside your head?"
"Nothing Ellie, don't worry about it"
She sighed as she tucked a piece of her brown hair behind her hair.
"Draco come on I know you, I can clearly see on your face that something is bothering you so just tell me, I won't stop worrying until you do"
He sighed as he looked away, running a hand through his light blonde hair.
"I don't think I can Ellie"
"Yes you can Draco, you can tell me anything"
Silence fell upon them, and she looked at him but he refused to keep eye contact with her. The moon lighted up the stone floor of the astronomy tower, and a shadow fell upon his face. She reached her hand up and stroked his cheek. His skin felt warm and soft, and he looked back at her as he placed his hand over hers.
"Ellie" he breathed "come sit with me"
She nodded her head as she sat down at the edge of the tower next to him. He held onto her hand, intertwining their fingers.
"There's so many things that I would like to say to you but I just can't find the words" he said quietly, gazing at the stars "I don't know how to put my thoughts into words, I don't know what to do with all these feelings that I have"
"What feelings?"
"I don't know" he shrugged, letting out a jagged breath "I don't know how to describe them, I've told you before that I'm not skilled when it comes to dealing with feelings, I just push them away, I have suffocated every feeling that I find scary or confusing since I was a child, it just comes so naturally to me nowadays but you... you make me feel things that I've never felt before, and I don't know how to describe them"
"It's okay Draco, you don't have to"
"But I want to" he said, turning his head to look at her "and I know I've said it before, but I wasn't ready then"
"So you're ready now?" she asked, looking at him with a small smile "because I can wait you know"
"I'm sure you can" he sighed, looking back up at the stars and the moon "but Ellie I have been trying to find a way to let you in on what's going on inside my head without it feeling so scary, but I can't"
"You don't have to be scared about that" she smiled, stroking his cheek "I won't judge you, not anymore"
Silence fell upon them once more as he sat there, pushing his lips together. She gave him a moment to gather his thoughts. She somewhat felt like she understood him more now than ever, and it was clear to see that Draco's arrogance was just used as a shield, on the inside he actually had a heart worth something. It was radiating warmth, he just needed a little more reassurance to follow it's direction.
"The stars..." he spoke after a moment, lingering on his words "they never seem to bore me, they're always there and they're always so bright no matter what's going on inside my head"
"Yeah that is pretty amazing" she smiled, gazing at the twinkling stars.
"You never have to be afraid of the dark when you have the stars to guide you" he mumbled, gripping onto her hand harder "something my mother told me when I was younger"
Silence once again took over the air, making everything feel a little lighter. She felt like there was a thousand unspoken words and emotions floating around them, but she did not feel the need to chase them, she knew the words would come to them when the time is right. Everything will fall into place, that is always written in the stars.
"Look Ellie" he breathed, peering at her in the moonlight "I have this empty space inside my heart, like a void, and my whole life I've been trying to fill it with something, anything, but I never seem find anything that makes it go away, I've tried with friends and family but I've never found anything to make me feel whole, except you, you make me feel whole"
She looked at him, and she was met by his bright eyes. Something deeper was hinting in them, and for a second she felt like she was drowning.
"What?" she breathed, surprised by his words.
"I don't know" he laughed, shaking his head "it's like my soul aches for you"
"Oh" she said, tucking another strand of her hair behind her ear "I feel like that sometimes too"
He smiled for moment before he looked away, gritting his teeth.
"Draco" she said, grabbing his chin to turn his head back towards her "it's okay"
"No it's not" he spat, shaking his head "I can't do this Ellie"
"Do what?"
He sighed loudly as he suddenly stood up and started to pace back and forth. She watched him as he opened his mouth to speak but no words came out. She sat still as he stopped, crossing his hands over his chest. His eyes pierced into her skin as he stared at her.
"Pretend like we're just friends, there's something more Ellie, I think about you all the time"
"I think about you too Draco, but there's just no way I'll end up with you" she said, looking at him from where she was sat "we're too different"
"I know" he mumbled, turning his back to her for a moment to think before he looked back "but friends don't look at friends in that way, you know that"
She stood up, gazing at him as the moonlight danced along his skin.
"Maybe not" she mumbled, stepping closer to him.
"I just find myself wondering what goes through your mind whenever someone mentions my name" he said, looking at her with glossy eyes "please tell me"
"Well... believe it or not but mostly all of my thoughts about you are good ones" she laughed, reaching her hand out to touch his arm "but mostly I just feel my heart beat like crazy when I hear your name"
He stood quiet, and she could hear his breathing. Nothing seemed to move, and it was like time had stopped around them. She watched him, and he was almost glowing in her eyes.
"I think I am falling in love with you and it scares the shit out of me" he breathed, looking her right in the eyes. His voice was a barely audible whisper, but yet soft and placid.
"And I think I'm falling in love with a idiot" she laughed, stroking his cheek "a confusing, intriguing, sweet and shielded smartass"
"But you're falling in love with me?" he asked surprised with a smile upon his lips.
"Most definitely yes"