All of the returning Hogwarts students boarded the Hogwarts Express in early January with a new energy to push through until the summer. Even Hermione and Draco, who relished in learning and thrived in the Hogwarts environment, were looking forward to a summer spent on the lake back at Cordarri Castle. For most of them, it would be their last summer of freedom before real, adult life set in.
Harry was hesitant to commit to the excitement his friends were feeling. With every new meeting he had with Dumbledore, his hopes of finishing out his Hogwarts career normally withered away.
"Dumbledore will want you here for your last year, Harry." Hermione said assuringly when Harry brought up his worries to the group one evening. He seemed rather unconvinced.
"You heard from the Ministry internship yet, Malfoy?" Harry changed the subject quickly, readjusting himself, discomfort and fear of the future clear on his face. Eleanor wanted to reach out and give her friend a gentle hand of comfort, and was surprised and happy to watch Ginny do it first.
Draco watched Eleanor's slight smile at her friends in front of her. He was still getting used to the feeling of having friends who were outwardly supportive of each other. He felt like a fool for thinking Eleanor was the only person in the world who cared about others in such a tender way. They were all like that. Harry, who had sworn to hate him when they were 11, was now casually asking about his plans for the future. Draco shook the feeling of being an imposter off of his shoulders and tried to remember that he had earned his place among them.
"Not yet, I'm hoping to know by Easter Break." Draco answered, "I don't know if I'll take it if I do get it, though."
Eleanor did a double take and stared intently at Draco in shock. "This is the first I'm hearing of this."
"I know how much you hate it so…"
"No, no," Eleanor began waving her hands frantically, "I want you to follow your dreams!"
Draco began laughing lightly at her panic. "I'm fucking with you." He chuckled, promoting a laugh from everyone in the group, while earning a smack on the shoulder from Eleanor. "It isn't because of you, it's just, well, it's kind of a shit show there right now, isn't it?"
"I hate to break it to you, Malfoy, but it has always been like that." Ron put in.
"Your dad works for the Ministry." Draco pointed out.
"Yeah, so did yours. That means we both should know this pretty well." Ron shot back. Ron had been finding a bit of good humor in banter with Draco now that neither of them were insulting the other. He found he could be a bit harsher with Draco without hurting his feelings, and still earning a laugh from his audience. He would never admit that he was beginning to like having him around.
"Well, I had no idea it was so corrupt. Our fathers have had very different experiences."
"Wonder why that is…" Ron mused, stroking his chin in faux contemplation. Draco turned slightly pink, realizing that what he had patronized Ron for throughout the majority of their childhood was exactly the same thing that Ron's father dealt with in the workplace. He felt a pit of shame start deep in his stomach when he thought of how similar he was to his father. How easy it had been for him to follow a pattern of hatred and misunderstanding and inequality.
"I didn't realize adults also gave a shit about that stuff…" Draco trailed off in embarrassment, looking at the ground.
"Where do you think you learned it all?" Ron asked, humor clear in his voice. He didn't want Draco to feel bad, or accuse him of being an awful person just because his father was.
Draco forced a chuckle, but didn't feel amused in the slightest. Eleanor kept her gaze focused on him, as if the longer she stared at his profile, the better she would be able to understand his brain. However, his skull did not open up and reveal all of his inner workings under her watchful eye. That was something that still frustrated her about Draco; she was certain he was more open and honest with her about his emotions than he was with anyone else, but she still felt that there was so much she did not know.
"I'm tired," Eleanor announced suddenly, bringing Draco out of his thoughtful trance as his eyes flew up to meet hers, "and it is painfully obvious that absolutely no studying is going to be happening in the library tonight." She gestured to all of their books which were sprawled on the table without a page having been turnt in over an hour. "I'll walk you back to the Slytherin dorms?" She requested quietly of Draco.
"How emasculating," Draco chuckled a little, but collected his books alongside his girlfriend.
"Don't be so old fashioned," Eleanor chided good naturedly, "see you all back in the Common Room." Eleanor gave everyone a bit of a wave before taking Draco's hand in her own.
"Have a good snog!" Ginny called after them, which earned a holler of laughter from her brother. Without looking back, Eleanor stuck her middle finger up at them, but chuckled nonetheless.
The couple walked in silence for a bit, strolling slowly and taking their time. Eleanor was not leading him to the Slytherin dormitories, he soon realized. She was walking towards the greenhouse. Draco cracked a small smile.
When they returned to Hogwarts after the holidays Eleanor had been granted a small office space inside the greenhouse, similar to Professor Sprout's office. It was also used as a propagation room, and extra storage, but Eleanor spruced it up with an old desk, some lanterns, and even a small cot that Dobby had found for her without asking any questions about why she needed it. She'd covered it in throw pillows and blankets and made it look like a comfortable seating area for guests, or for her own reading purposes.
Her friends could scarcely look in the direction of her office during Herbology with the knowledge of what the cot was usually used for. Eleanor would shrug off their disproving comments and glances and say that it logically made the most sense and that she always had an excuse handy if Professor Sprout ever came to the greenhouse in the middle of the night. 'Just finishing up some work, and Draco kept me company so he could walk me back because Peeves has been really getting on my nerves recently,' she would tell them.
Hermione always rolled her eyes at this.
"You aren't tired," Draco accused mockingly as Eleanor searched her bag for the greenhouse key. Eleanor smirked.
"I love that you're friends with my friends, but sometimes I just want you all to myself." Eleanor said simply. "Sorry if that is selfish."
"You aren't sorry."
Eleanor opened her mouth to respond when the two heard uneven footsteps walking down the hall towards them. Eleanor quickly got her excuse ready for whichever professor or prefect that was approaching the young couple, who looked like they had been caught utterly red handed.
"I always wondered where the two of you fucked." An unamused laugh came from the shadows as the person walked closer.
"Blaise?" Draco asked almost immediately, though he couldn't be totally sure it was his childhood friend approaching. The tenor of the voice sounded like Blaise, but his tone sounded different, and his words didn't match something Blaise would say even on his worst day.
"The greenhouse? Really, Draco? That's...I mean, wow - very primal of you." It became clear that it was Blaise as he entered the light, and clapped in a mock congratulations with absolutely no rhythm. He was walking slightly slanted and his glassy eyes were half closed.
"Is he drunk?" Eleanor asked Draco quietly, Draco nodded once in confirmation, which seemed to irritate the already belligerent Blaise even further.
"I can hear you talk about me!" He yelled and lunged forward, but wobbled on his feet and grabbed onto Draco's shoulders for support. Eleanor instinctively took a step back and Draco blocked her protectively. Eleanor's heart broke when she saw Blaise's eyes fill with tears that didn't ever make it to his cheeks. "I can hear when everyone talks about me." He continued, his eyes darted around frantically.
"No one is talking about you, Blaise." Draco told his friend softly, putting a gentle hand on his shoulder. Blaise smacked his hand away furiously. Draco sent his hands up in surrender, but his eyes grew dark and his jaw clenched in anger.
"I hear it. I hear everything. I hear everyone talking about how I'm not living up to my potential." He spit some bile onto the stone walkway. "My professors are talking about how my marks are slipping, how I'm 'so angry' now. Do they even realize how powerful I am? Who I'm working with?"
"Who you're working for?" Draco corrected snidely. "You aren't his partner, you're his slave."
Blaise's eyes seemed to turn black and he lunged at Draco a second time. "You don't know anything." He spat out, Draco was able to push him back easily because of how off balance the overindulgence of alcohol made him. "He gave me an important job. He trusted me with something he couldn't trust anyone else with. And you want to know the best part? The part of it I love the most?" Blaise's breath came out in raging heaves. "It was supposed to be your job. But the Malfoys fell from grace. All of you are failures. While your idiot father sits in Azkaban, and your mother runs cowardly away, and while you fuck your blood traitor girlfriend and cozy up to Harry Potter; I become more powerful than you can even imagine."
"Aren't you just fixing a piece of furniture?" Eleanor couldn't stop herself from spitting. Draco didn't have time to even roll his eyes at her terrible timing before Blaise reached out and smacked her across the cheek. Eleanor took a step back in surprise but proudly refused to hold a hand to her stinging face. She didn't want to give Blaise the satisfaction of knowing it hurt.
Draco swiftly put both hands on Blaise's chest and shoved him to the ground with great force. His hand was on his wand in an instant and he held it to Blaise's throat menacingly. "The Dark Lord doesn't want you dead yet," Blaise wheezed at Eleanor, out of breath from his quick descent to the hard floor, "though I wouldn't be opposed-"
"I'd be careful, Zabini." Draco warned, jabbing the end of his wand further into Blaise's neck.
"Don't underestimate me." Blaise stated, although his position on the ground and his slurred words made him seem like less than a real threat. There was a tangible sadness hanging in the air at the disheveled and manic state of a once beloved friend.
"Enough." A voice barked from down the hall, commanding and firm. "Mr. Malfoy, please rise off of Mr. Zabini." Dumbledore strode over to the trio in a quick fashion. Draco hesitated for a moment, waiting until the professor was nearer to them.
"He advanced first," Eleanor explained quickly, "Draco was just acting in defense."
"Coward," Blaise coughed from the floor when Draco pushed slightly too hard on his chest to stand up and face their Headmaster. He rolled his eyes at his pathetic, drunk housemate.
"There is no excuse for fighting in the hallways, I hope you know this." Dumbledore stated, watching as Blaise rolled onto his knees and began to rise up.
"He hit Eleanor." Draco said, "And I didn't see any prefects or professors strolling the halls for protection, so what was I supposed to do? Just let him hit her?"
"I only hit women who deserve it." Blaise spat, finally on his feet but was teetering noticeably.
"Did you learn that one from your father or from Voldemort?" Eleanor took a step of advancement before Draco shot his arm out to stop her.
"Miss Cordarri, that is enough." Dumbledore enunciated clearly. All three watched Blaise keel over and throw up on his shoes and begin groaning slightly. "You should all be in bed." Dumbledore instructed and began turning away.
Draco stood dumbfounded for only a moment before shooting out: "Aren't you going to do anything?"
"What do you suggest I do, Mr. Malfoy?" Dumbeldore asked calmly. "I witnessed you attacking an ailing Mr. Zabini, you informed me that it was in defense of Miss Cordarri, and I believe you. Now that an all out brawl has been thwarted, the best thing for each of you is to retire."
"You aren't going to punish him?" Draco's voice was starting to sound desperate.
"I believe the headache and guilt he will face in the morning is a natural consequence, don't you agree?"
Draco ground his teeth together, as if he were holding angry words in his throat. He thought for a few moments, then decided to release them despite the consequences he might face. "You never do anything. I have told you on two occasions about Death Eaters in this school. I have gone against everything I was raised to believe, I have sacrificed my entire life because I was told to trust that you would keep me, Eleanor, and Harry safe. I trusted that, and yet every time I have gone against my better judgement and told you about the dangers we are in, you leave us unsupported and unprotected. I just do not understand it."
"Draco," Eleanor spoke softly, putting a soft hand on his shoulder, unsure of how she felt about his diatribe. She couldn't argue that he had made some very good points, it felt like they were being hung to dry.
"I'm sorry you feel that the safety of Hogwarts is on your shoulders, Mr. Malfoy. I assure you that it is still my burden to bear." Dumbledore said quietly after a few moments. "I will have Severus collect Mr. Zabini as I do not believe you will be willing to help him back to your shared dorms. Please feel free to stay on the cot that I know Miss Cordarri has in her office if you feel so inclined to stay away from your housemates for the evening."
He then turned and began to disappear down the corridor. Blaise quietly got back onto the floor and laid his head on the cool stones and closed his eyes. Draco gave him a swift kick to the arm, which went unacknowledged, and turned into the greenhouse with Eleanor.
"That was the worst apology I have ever heard," Draco muttered as he entered her office and flicked on a lantern, "and I should know, I've given some pretty awful ones." He began discarding his robes and looking in Eleanor's desk drawers where he knew she kept extra clothes for the both of them. He began changing into loungewear angrily while Eleanor stood speechless in the doorway. "Why does Potter worship him so much?"
Eleanor paused a moment, waiting to see if Draco had more to say, or if he was truly looking for an answer. She was, in truth, very surprised to see Dumbledore be that dismissive towards Draco. A simmering, persistent anger burned in her stomach while she watched him pace.
"What he just did was very wrong," Eleanor started, biting her thumbnail in frustration, then removing it from her mouth as quickly as it went there, trying to rid herself of the habit, "I think it's hard for us to see his foresight. The whole Order trusts him, and I don't know, I feel like if we can't trust Dumbledore, we have to at least trust Remus and Sirius, who both trust him."
"I knew you were going to say that," Draco huffed, unconvinced. Another silence fell over them, both feeling uncomfortable and frustrated with what just transpired, and neither knowing quite what they needed from each other.
Blaise began yelling loudly outside the greenhouse then, and Snape's sneering insults came lashing back at him. Eleanor stiffened as they both listened to Blaise yelling about how important and powerful he was, about how he had been trusted, and about how no one could see how completely indispensable he had become.
A solitary tear fell onto Eleanor's cheek while his incoherent yells became quieter as he walked further away from the greenhouse.
"Are you hurt?" Draco asked immediately when he noticed her quiet tears, he shot up from the bed and collected her face in his hands, inspecting the red mark that covered her cheek, but was fading. "Are you scared?" He asked, softer.
Eleanor shook her head once. It was grief that swirled in her chest, and relief, and anxiety. She didn't know how to explain her feelings to Draco, she wasn't sure how to tell him about the bittersweet ache in her heart.
The only explanation she could offer for her tears was: "That was almost you."
Quick note: It's officially been one year since I first posted Sun, Moon, and Stars on FF.n. I'm honestly kind of shocked it's been so long, and yet it all feels really new. I just want to say thank you for the continued support, I'm so appreciative of every fav, follow, and review. I'm happy my story is reaching people, and I can only hope I'm continuing to do right by this piece and producing something you all are happy to read!
