When the two of you first met, you knew there was chemistry, right away. Silver washing into emerald...it was rather beautiful, in its own ugly way. One smile could send your heart racing. Sometimes because it was meant for you. A message of love. Other times, because it was taunting you. A message of hate. You wonder if that was how it was always meant to be. So, late at night, when the two of you have slipped from your dorms to meet in the Astronomy tower, you ask him.
"Of course!", he laughs. And you wonder how he can say it with such ease, say it like it makes sense. Your confusion must show on your face, because he takes your arm and drags you to the edge of the tower.
"Let me explain." And he does.
"It's not that your heart will race either way. Your heart races at the same thing. The love. Whether I'm hiding the love in a smirk won't change the fact that it's there. Your heart is smart. So, because it recognizes the love, hidden or revealed, it begins to react."
"But...but we're enemies. So, when we're being enemies, shouldn't my heart be confused?"
Grey eyes blink at you, amused. "No. Only your brain is confused."
And you can't help thinking how true that is. Your brain is defiantly confused. Were his words supposed to make some kind of warped sense? Darkness was not to supposed to mix with light, yet it seemed only fitting that it did. Like always, the grey eyes understood his inner questions.
"Darkness and light are two different things. Right?" You feel yourself nodding.
"No one wants to see the darkness, only the light. But they have to."
"Why?"
"There are many kinds of darkness. To be consumed in it, is a sad darkness. To love it, is an angry darkness-"
"What's your darkness?"
A smirk appears on his lips, and you feel your heart begin to race. Love.
"Why do you assume I'm darkness?" You don't know the answer. But it doesn't matter, because he continues to speak.
"The point is everyone has to see the dreaded dark, because it is the only way to see the light. They complete each other. Look.", he gestures out toward the night, and you see the stars. He leans against you.
"Don't you just love the stars?", he whispers, and you silently agree.
"Did you know the stars are out during the day, as well?" You raise your eyebrows. No, you didn't. You had assumed that they traveled to the other side of the planet, along with the moon.
"We just can't see them.", he continues. "Imagine that. The day never ends, because we all hate the darkness of the night. And then what?", he turns to you.
"We would never see the stars again."
You wonder what that would be like, never seeing the tiny lights that ignite the night sky. You decide that would royally suck.
"Would the moon still shine?"
He grins at you, and you heart races once more. Love.
"Ah, ah, ah.", he playfully scolds, "The moon is apart of the light."
He turns to look back out at the night, again. "Don't you see, love? A certain darkness is needed to see the stars. They complete each other."
You kiss him, after that. It's a slow one, which means the two of you must be super in love tonight. Perhaps tomorrow the hate will return? The thought makes your heart clench.
"I don't want the stars to vanish."
He laughs. A happy tinkling, that lightens the clenching in your heart, ever so slightly.
"They won't vanish."
"Tomorrow, they'll be gone. I..I don't want to lose them."
The ghost of his laugh, a smile, gentles in acknowledgement.
"Yes. They will. But, that's only because morning has to come, love. People tolerate the stars...but they must disappear."
You feel you the back of your eyes sting, and you look down. "Then, they come back, again. Forever, right?"
He gently wipes your wet cheeks, and you feel foolish for crying. Hesitantly, he whispers, "We're not talking about stars, anymore...are we?"
You keep quiet, and he asks, "Do you want...forever?"
Your heart aches, whispering to you Yes, more than anything, as you hiss at him, "No."
He winces, and you feel guilt wash over you, for hurting a person you love. That's all you've been trying to avoid.
"It's not safe for darkness to mix with light, yet. That's why the stars only shine at night. But I promise you, right after this fucking war is over-"
He shakes his head, and you watch, horrified, as grey eyes fill with tears.
"No", he chokes out, yanking up his sleeve. The Dark Mark glares at you. "The stars don't shine during the day. It's not possible-
"You told me they shine during the day.", you retort, kissing the tattooed skin. He glares at you, snatching away his arm, as tears spill down his pale cheeks.
"Yes, but secretly, remember? It's too dangerous..."
You take his face in your hands. "After the war...we'll get a telescope."
Then you kiss him. Hard. You only stop when he purposely bites down on your tongue. You don't have the heart to glare, when he gives you a watery smile, so you just lick up the blood.
The sun begins to rise, and he stands, grey eyes quickly becoming cold, his face reverting to a mask.
"It seems that the darkness is leaving the sky...but it'll be back again at night. Okay? No matter what, it will always be back."
You don't even nod as you stand up, and whisper, "And so will the stars."
You take a step towards him, and you can already see the suspicion forming in his eyes.
"The only difference?"
You take another step forward, and before he can take a step back, you encircle his waist with your arms.
"The stars will be shining during the day, too. Just like you said. The darkness might be in hiding, but the stars aren't going anywhere."
Grey eyes look up at you, amused and upset, all at once.
"I promise." He shakes his head in distress, and you sigh.
"What else can I promise you?"
"Promise me that after this is all over, you'll still be alive. I don't care if you lose the war. I don't even care if I die during it. I just-"
You feel your insides disintegrating, "No. I-I can't promise you that."
"But, why?" And grey eyes are crying again. "That's all I want! I just want you to be okay...can't you just promise me this one thing?"
"But, love", you whisper, as he clutches onto your robes, "If you were to die, then I would die. If I found out that you lost your life during this war, I wouldn't be able to even breath properly. All the fight would go out of me. I'm not fighting to beat Voldemort, or to help Dumbledore, or even to save the Wizarding World. I'm fighting for you."
He looks up at you surprised, and you find yourself smiling.
"Why so shocked?" You place a hand on his wet cheek. "Don't you see? A certain darkness is needed to see the stars."
And despite his anguish, he laughs, grey eyes sparkling. "Exactly."
"So, let's make a truce." He suggests, and you grin.
"Sure. How about this: I won't die, if you don't."
He laughs again, but stops abruptly when the halls begin to fill with the voices of students. You smile, sadly.
"Guess it's time for darkness to vanish, and the stars to shine. Secretly, of course."
He nods, spinning on his heel, and grasping the handle. Before pulling it, he whispers, "After the war...I'm counting on that telescope."
And then he's gone. But you grin all the same. After a few minutes, you leave as well.
It would soon be time to shine in the darkness. Whether it be day or night.