Staring up at the Stars

Response to kissmelikewe'redying's Quote Challenge. My quote was from The Saltwater Room by Owl city : "I opened my eyes last night and saw you in the low light, walking down by the bay, on the shore, staring up at the stars that aren't there anymore". It doesn't have a specific time, but I imagine them to be in their sixth year.

Harry could not sleep. It was not unusual, he often woke up in the night and could not return to his dreams. During nights like this he would take out his father's invisibility cloak and the marauders map, and leave the safety of Gryffindor tower to explore. These late walks were generally uneventful, with the exception of a few times when he had almost ran into professors Snape or Filch, who liked to prowl the empty castle looking for out of bed students they could punish. On this particular night, Harry found himself heading towards the Owlery to visit Hedwig, he had not seen her in a while and she had always been a good friend to him when he needed someone the most.

Stroking the owl perched on his shoulder, he walked over to the windows and stared out over the castle grounds below. He could see only just see Hagrid's hut, a lone dim light against the black mass of the forest behind. His eyes raked the grounds, the Greenhouses were reflecting the moonlight, the Black Lake rippled in the evening breeze, the landscape looked breathtaking beautiful in the starlight, like a scene from a child's fantasy book. He sat there for an immeasurable amount of time, it could have been minutes or hours, the calmness of the night seemed like a different world where the concept of time did not exist.

He was about to finally about to retire to bed when a small movement caught his eye. He froze, looking close for the offending movement, but he could not see anything more. Deciding it was probably just another student's cat, or perhaps an owl, he stood up, and turned to leave, when he saw it again. He scanned the grounds more closely, when he saw a faint sliver of blonde by the lake. His heart skipping a beat, he wondered if it was who he initially thought it was. Of course, it may have not been, but Harry had always relied on his instincts, which were nearly always right, so he lifted Hedwig from his shoulder and set down towards the doors of the castle. All ideas of checking his map to ensure the coast was clear were banished from his mind in the excitement of finally being able to talk to the other boy alone, away from the prying eyes of others. It would not do well for others to discover the infatuation Harry had with the blonde boy, he was sure Hermione had already noticed his eyes straying over to the Slytherin table many times during meals, but he couldn't be sure as she hadn't mentioned anything about it. But one thing was for sure – he had been staring back.

Harry hadn't even given thought to the other boys reaction, or what he was going to say, which he only realised as he left the protection of the castle and into the cold night. He had half a mind to turn back and return to bed, as were his original intentions, but he told himself not to, he had come this far, and who knows when he would get another opportunity like this? As he drew closer, he could see the other boy clearly, he was lying by the bank of the shore, staring directly upwards into the dark sky. Tears were glistening on his cheeks.

Harry became rather concerned at this, he had presumed that the other boy had just wanted to take a night time stroll as he himself had; he never thought that he might be upset and wanted to be alone. For once, he didn't know what to do, so he did what Harry did best – he followed his heart. Pulling the invisibility cloak from himself, he stuffed it in his pocket and stepped forward.

"Malfoy?" He called softly, but it seemed he hadn't heard, the other boy was in a world of his own, much like Harry had been in the Owlery.
He took a brave step forward, close enough to touch the other boy if he wished. "Draco?"

The pale boy snapped out of his daze with the sound of his given name, and startled, he sat up, and turned around to stare at the intruder.
"What are you doing, Potter?" He said, but his voiced noticeably lacked the venom it usually carried, and he was shaking. Harry did not reply, his numb fingers were busy unfastening his cloak which, luckily, he had an impulse to wear when he left his dormitory that night. He pulled the cloak off himself, leant over to the shivering boy, and placed it around his shoulders. The boy pulled it around himself, obviously glad for the extra warmth, but did not thank Harry.

Harry stood there in silence for a few minutes, elated that the boy had accepted his cloak without argument, and had not yet left, which he took as a positive sign. Emboldened by this thought, he shuffled forward and sat next to him, looking out at the lake. The surface was flecked with reflections of the stars miles above. He noticed from the corner of his eye that Draco had clearly relaxed a little, and he smiled to himself. When Draco laid back down on the soft grass, Harry followed suit.

The two boys sat there, side by side, neither saying a word. To harry, it felt like a dream, like a magical, unbelievable fantasy, he was worried that speech would break the spell and pull him back to the reality. Staring up at the sky above them gave both boys a sense of security, as if all walls and barriers between them had broken down, exposing their real personality and feelings without fear of judgment.

Whilst it was quite calming, Harry could no longer stand the silence between them. "The stars here really are beautiful."

After what felt like an eternity, Draco spoke, his voice soft and quiet. "There are no stars left anymore".
Harry looked over at the boy lying next to him, but returned his gaze upwards when he realised Draco was still looking away, and had not finished what he was saying.
"There used to be so many stars. They were so beautiful; each one was like a small spark of hope in the night sky. But now they've gone, they have left this sky empty, without the warmth of their light".

Harry continued to stare at the little specks of light for a moment, contemplating the words. He knew Draco was no longer talking about the stars, his words ran deeper than the eye could see.

Harry sat up, "But you're wrong. There is one star left. You just can't see it from there. Come over here, and I'll show you".

Draco scooted over so he was sitting side by side with Harry, and Harry turned around and looked at him.
"Where?"

Harry reached out and put his arms around the boy in front of him, pulling him closer. He buried his face in the silky white hair and whispered in his ear. "It's here. Your star is right here".

Draco leaned into the embrace, glad to have a light back in his darkened sky.

Thanks for reading :) Majorly out of character, I know, but oh well :)

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