01. Counting Stars
Su Li & Daphne Greengrass
Clutching a small piece of parchment in one hand, Su silently slipped up the stairs of the Astronomy Tower, dark hair dancing behind her.
Daphne was already there, staring fixedly at the sky.
"You're early," Su said, shivering slightly. The note had said one o'clock and she was always at least ten minutes early. Ladies were never late.
"You're early too," Daphne retorted, still not looking Su in the eye. The clear night seemed to preoccupy her.
Su looked up too. The stars seemed brighter than she'd ever seen them, not stifled by the breathing of the world. It seemed as if everyone at Hogwarts was asleep. That is, everyone other than Daphne and herself. She stood there next to Daphne, staring at the cosmos for a good ten minutes in utter silence.
"Why'd you call me here, Greengrass? What are we doing?" Su asked, placing a hand, feather soft, on Daphne's arm to break her out of her apparent reverie.
"I thought maybe we could count the stars, if you'd like." Daphne replied, still refusing to look at the other witch. Her cheeks, already pink in the cold, flushed redder.
"Alright," said Su, staring solemnly at the Slytherin, face indecipherable.
"I'm sorry, I know it's silly."
"It's not."
Su's small, cold fingers tentatively wrapped around Daphne's slightly sweaty hand and they watched the sky for a wordless hour- the hour that began the rest of their lives.
Daphne counted the stars and Su counted her heartbeats.