Noctiluca Amor

By: LadyDiablo

Pairing: Ron/Draco

Status: Complete

Rating: Pg-13

Warning: Slash/Yaoi. Don't like, don't read.

Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J K Rowling.

Summary: Severus Snape had not actually expected the boys to come back with the flowers. He knew that they were very rare. He also knew why they were rare. R/D

/blah/ Draco's thoughts

blah Ron's thoughts

Draco Malfoy was heading out on the grounds of Hogwarts with Ron Weasley stumbling after him. They had detention together and were to go into the Forbidden forest and gather some plants for Professor Snape. These plants apparently only grew on the full moon, and only in the winter. The snow had started to fall the day before and had not stopped until this afternoon. Everything was now sparkling white and beautiful. The forest looked like it was from a painting.

Despite all this beauty, it was still very cold. Mist was coming out of their mouths, and they had both buried their hands deep in their pockets. Draco really longed for the Slytherin common room and the big fire he knew was radiating warmth. He would give anything to be sitting in one of the comfortable armchairs…

"Hurry up! The sooner we get the plants, the sooner we get to go inside again."

Ron scowled at him, but walked a little bit faster.

They had been partners in Potions earlier that day, and unfortunately blown up their cauldron and because of that somehow succeeded in shrinking Dean and Seamus to the size of rats. It was actually amusing to see them running around looking and sounding like chipmunks.

Draco smirked to himself at the redheaded boy walking behind. He was actually grateful to have someone with him right now, even if it was the Weasel. It was colder and darker in the forest than he remembered from his detention in the forest, in his first year. That was four years ago, and he had not been in the forest since. The moonlight hardly reached through the big trees, giving the grounds an eerie silvery glow.

"What are we looking for?" Ron did not seem to be in the mood for their verbal fights tonight. Thinking about it, he did not really feel like it either.

"Don't know. Some pathetic yellow little flower."

"Could you be a little more specific?"

"No."

The longer into the forest they walked, the colder it became. Soon they were both shivering and their teeth were clattering.

Draco swept his cloak tighter around himself and looked back at Ron. He noticed that Ron's cloak was made of the thinnest material possible for a winter-cloak. It looked extremely well worn and was probably a hand-me-down from one of his brothers. His lips were blue and he had wrapped his arms around himself to keep warm. His first reaction was to sneer, and he was about to, when he for the first time ever, actually felt sorry for the poor Weasley. This obviously, came as a big surprise, and he hastily pushed the thought to the very back of his mind.

"S-so, where are we going to look?"

Draco looked at Ron and considered the advice that Professor Snape had given him before they went out:

You'll find the flower where the ground is covered with snow and where the moonlight reaches.

"Where the moonlight reaches the ground." he answered.

"Oh. And where would that be? " Ron said a little sarcastically. "If you had not noticed, the moonlight doesn't reach through the trees here." He had a little difficult to speak due to the fact that his teeth wouldn't be still.

"Oh for Goodness Sake, buy yourself a new cloak!" Draco couldn't stop the remark from coming, it was a habit.

"Shut up, Malfoy!" Ron snapped back.

"Yes, I forgot. You can't afford it. Pity." Draco mentally hit himself. He didn't want to fight with Weasley now. He truly didn't want to be by himself in the forest right now or ever again.

"I'm sorry." He froze. What had just happened? Had he actually apologized? A Malfoy never apologizes! Especially not to a Weasley.

Ron's head snapped up and he looked at Draco with shock written all over his face. Instantly the surprise on Draco's face disappeared and the usual sneer was plastered on his face yet again. He pretended as if nothing had happened. Had he actually apologized or was it just Ron's imagination?

Draco noticed that the Weasley was still looking at him and he instantly sneered at him. Suddenly a thought popped into his mind. Weasley almost looked cute with that perplexed expression. CUTE?

Where does these disturbing thoughts come from? I do not feel sorry for him, and he is definitely not cute!

He regained control of his thoughts and almost passed out when he then started to progress these upsetting thoughts.

All right, it's the cold. It has to be the cold. No sane human being could ever find Ron Weasley cute. Could they? It is the cold, it has to be the cold. He's a Weasley, for Goodness sake!

"Since when have you ever been sorry for anything?" Ron stuttered, after a few seconds of stunned silence. The perplexed look was still on his face.

Oh yes, he is so cute! Absolutely adorable!

Draco looked into Ron's eyes. They were a light brown, almost golden, and he found that he couldn't tear himself away. Those eyes were beautiful, why did he not notice before?

Ron found himself looking into Draco's silvery-grey eyes. He was so truly gorgeous. The way the moonlight made both his eyes and hair look like silver. Or maybe water. He couldn't really decide. He knew all the girls in Hogwarts found the Slytherin attractive and he had never understood it. Until now, that is.

They had stopped now, and stood facing each other with equal bewildered facial expressions.

Why do I have these thoughts? There is NO WAY he is gorgeous. He has tormented me for years! I mean, just look at him…he's absolutely…beautiful.

Ron couldn't help it. His thoughts betrayed him, and there was nothing he could do. But when he thought about it, it was not as if he actually wanted to do something to avoid it.

They stood there in the middle of the Forbidden forest, slowly inching closer to each other. Nothing seemed to move as Ron took one last hesitant step forward. They were almost touching only a few centimeters between them. Draco could feel his heart beat faster and faster, as he tentatively leaned in towards Ron so that, finally, their lips were touching lightly.

Oh My God!

They were both thinking the same, and they both felt the other shiver slightly. It was just a slightest contact of soft lips, but it was enough. None of them had ever felt like this before, and none of them wanted this feeling to stop. They now understood the meaning of the expression "light as a bird".

Ron's arms slowly and timidly snaked up around Draco's neck and his fingers buried themselves in the hair he found there. Draco answered by putting his hands on Ron's waist and pulling them even closer together. Draco's heart leaped as he heard and felt Ron's faint sigh against his own lips. He needed air, but he desperately didn't want to let go.

Draco reached to his cloak and enclosed both himself and Ron with it. They relished in the warmth of each other, and in the cloak around them. At that moment everything felt right, with a person they never would have thought possible.

Ron was the one to eventually break the kiss. They were both breathing hard and Ron looked up at Draco with a mixture of shock, awe and something almost akin to love. Draco thought his knees would give up at that incredible look.

"I…eh…I think l-love you."

At those hesitantly spoken words his knees actually buckled, and he slid to the snowy ground taking Ron with him.

"Oh Ron…I…I love you too."

They both now sat in the middle of the forest, moonlight shining down on them through the treetops and clinging to each other like a lifeline.

They didn't notice the small yellow flowers pushing up through the snow around them. Not yet anyway.

-------

Severus Snape had not actually expected the boys to come back with the flowers. He knew that they were very rare. He also knew why they were rare. Therefore his mouth opened up in a goldfish imitation, before he actually managed to get a word forth. And when he did, it was a rather embarrassing "eh…?".

Ron and Draco looked at each other in bewilderment, wondering what Snape was on about. The questioning glance between them turned into a shy smile before they both looked away.

"Where did you…?"

Snape didn't continue his sentence, but stopped himself and looked from one boy to the other in astonishment.

He quickly dismissed them after that, not saying another word. As he watched their retreating backs, he thoughtfully scratched his chin, a small smile tugging at his lips.

The small flowers called Noctiluca Amor, could only to be found where the ground is covered with snow, and where the moonlight reaches, that is true. However, he had left something out when he had explained it to the boys. It could only be found if true love was present. Combining moonlight, snow and true love made this flower very rare indeed.

THE END

Noctiluca amor - moon love

This story is pure fluff. I wrote it a long time ago and it felt a little rushed when I read it through, but I thought I would post it anyway. Hope you enjoyed it!