The last few nights had been a lot different than before. Harry had gotten a lot more hours of sleep, contrary to the previous nights where only a fraction of the night was spent sleeping and the rest was spent out in the halls and down in the kitchen. He wasn't complaining. It felt nice to wake up at the crack of dawn feeling like he hadn't just fallen asleep. Besides, all that sugar could not be good for him, or his teeth. How many nights had he skipped brushing his teeth? Way too many.
On the downside, if one could call it that, his sudden sleepiness at night meant he didn't go out every night, quietly sneaking out of the dorms, down the dark halls, and running into a certain blond. Harry wasn't really sure if that was a downside or not. On one hand, Draco could still be a pain in the ass in the middle of the night if he wanted to, and a little intimidating even as he stood in front of him in pyjamas and a robe with messy hair and bags under his eyes, looking very much not like the Draco he saw during the day.
On the other hand, running into him, sometimes quite literally, wasn't all that bad, sometimes at least. It wasn't like Draco was all of the sudden his best friend, but he wasn't at his worst either. If it was just an act, him being tired or him just not caring enough to spew some rude remarks all the time at him, Harry didn't know. Every once in a while, meeting him was actually a little nice. It was almost like meeting a different person.
This night he hadn't been that tired, not to the point of not being able to sleep as he probably could fall asleep if he tried, but somewhere in between. He had laid in bed for a while when he all of the sudden got the idea of going out. It had been a while, maybe a week or so, since last time. He wasn't necessarily planning on getting some hot chocolate. He wasn't really sure of what he was planning on doing actually. Maybe take a walk or look around, maybe around the area by the Slytherin dorms, randomly of course. Perhaps he ran into Draco, if he was still going out for his walks, obviously not on purpose.
No blond was seen anywhere out in the halls, not that Harry was checking. He was just observant. And so was he as he stood outside by the door, staring intensely into the dark like he was looking for something. He saw nothing. If Draco, just happened, to be out there, he wasn't anywhere Harry could see.
He could have gone back to bed, which he didn't. He proceeded to take a very long walk all around the school, ending up at the top floor, in the astronomy tower to be specific, obviously just randomly and out of a coincidence. He'd just taken some wrong turns, that was all.
He paused at the top of the stairs, about to turn around and go back, but stopped. Were his eyes playing tricks on him or was someone standing by the railing?
He stepped closer and swore he could see a head of blond hair. Slipping the cloak of his head, he placed it down with his wand before stepping even closer. "Hello."
The figure stiffened, turning around to face him, a hand reaching for something in the pocket of the robe wrapped around him. "Potter." Harry could hear the usual annoyance in his voice. "Do you always have to sneak up on me? Enjoy scaring me, do you?" His hand stayed in his pocket, presumably where his wand was.
"I mean, I don't exactly not enjoy it." Draco rolled his eyes, leaning his back against the railing. He pulled out his hand and crossed his arms over his chest. "How did you know I was here?"
"Who said I was looking for you?"
"Touché."
"I haven't seen you in a while." Harry walked up to the railing, resting his elbows on it and looking out at the dark school grounds. "What have you been up to?"
"Oh, you mean since I saw you a good six hours ago? Surprisingly little." Harry turned his head to look at him and swore he could see a teasing smile on the blond's face. "I was talking about at night. How could I forget all the remarks, the sneering, glaring and hexes in just six hours? Unless you decided to go as far as put some sort of memory potion in my orange juice or something, that is."
"Do you really think I'd do that? In the Great Hall with everyone watching?"
"Yes."
Draco looked at him for a moment. He tucked a strand of hair behind his ear before talking, changing the subject. "I've been coming up here since we last met, if you just have to know. That cat's been running around outside lately, probably because of some first years sneaking around outside at the night and getting caught or something, so I decided to just come up here instead. No professors, or cats, seem to check this place."
"Where have you been exactly?" he continued. "I haven't seen you in days, except during the day. Did the hot chocolate stop working? Did you get caught? How many points did you lose?"
"No, no and none. I've just all of the sudden been able to just go to bed and sleep, without any hot chocolate. So I take it you still can't sleep?"
"No, I can't." It got silent for a moment, Draco not saying anything else and Harry waiting for him to continue. "Do you want to talk about it?" Harry eventually asked as he realised Draco wasn't planning on continuing and opening up to him. "With you, Potter?" Draco replied in his usual tone. "No. We're not friends, if that's what you're thinking. Just because we run into each other at night sometimes and don't point our wands at each other does not mean you and I are friends."
"I never said we were."
"Good, because we're not. Don't go thinking just because it's night and we're alone I'm going to tell you all my problems and listen to all of yours."
"Did I struck a nerve?" Even in the dim light Harry could see him rolling his eyes. "Want me to struck an actual one, Potter?"
"Not really. We'd both get in trouble for that, being out after curfew and all of that." Draco's hand that was most likely reaching for the wand in his pocket, stopping, dropping to Draco's side. "Did you come here to disturb me? I was actually enjoying myself in peace and quiet before you arrived."
"Draco Malfoy enjoying himself? Sounds too positive to be true."
Draco turned his head to look at him, his eyebrows furrowed and an annoyed, and very familiar, expression on his face. "I'm just kidding," Harry said, raising his hands in defence. "I can leave you to your peace and quiet if you want. I probably have to sleep soon anyway, before classes start." He stepped away from the railing, walking over to pick up his cloak and wand.
He was just about to walk down the stairs, his cloak draped over his shoulders and his wand in his hand.
"You can stay if you want."
He paused.
"To be completely honest, you're not all that bad to be around," Draco continued. "At night," he added. "When no one else is around, when your mouth is shut and that stupid grin on your face is gone."