The only sound as Eden makes her way toward the Astronomy tower is her uneven breathing and the clicking of her heels against the floor.
It took her about two minutes to decide that she was going to do what the note said. During those two minutes she went through the possible scenario that it could have been someone pranking her and when she showed up it was just going to be Clara there laughing at her.
But, she decided she was going to take the chance and find out. She wasn't getting much out of standing around while the Yule Ball finished up with a long spree of slow songs.
Her heart rate picks up as she climbs the stairs to the astronomy tower, wishing she had brought a coat as she feels the snowy air hit her bare arms.
All her worries and doubts seem to vanish as she reaches the top of the long staircase and sees Draco standing toward the edge of the tower, looking out across the castle ground, his long fingers wrapped around the railing.
It takes her a moment to find her voice, wanting to take in the pure beauty of him. His strong jawline, the shape of his nose, the way his eyes shined in the moonlight and reflected the snow below.
She realizes she's staring and takes a step closer to him, "Draco…" she speaks up softly.
He turns around quickly, like she had startled him. "I was starting to think you weren't going to come." He admits, turning the other way again to look across the landscape.
"I almost didn't," she wraps her arms around herself as she walks even closer, "I thought it might have been Clara trying to pull a joke or something."
He lets out a quiet, bitter laugh, "Sounds like something she would do."
Eden shrugs, "You would know, you know her better than I do.'
"I think you witness the cruel side of her more than I do." He observes. He wasn't wrong, but she was surprised he was admitting it, "I think you witness the cruel side of a lot of people." He looks at her again and his gaze is so intense it almost takes her back. It looks like he's about to say something but he stops himself, looking her up and down, "Where's your coat?" He wasn't asking out of concern but more so out of exasperation.
"I...I didn't wear one, I wasn't expecting to be outside-" He sighs and slips his jacket off, leaving him in his white button down and dress pants, "No, you'll be cold."
"Stop being nice and take it." He offers it to her, "This shouldn't take long anyway." Eden blushes and accepts his kind (?) gesture, sliding her arms into the sleeves of the coat and trying to ignore the absolute euphoria she felt in being enveloped in his scent.
"What exactly is...this?" She asks, resting her hands against the railing next to him.
"I wanted to say I was sorry for the other night, I was being quite childish and, well...I deserved to be slapped." Eden frowns at him yet again. It was quite hard for her to believe that he was genuinely apologizing but he did seem genuine.
"Are you...actually apologizing to me?" She asks him.
Draco rolls his eyes, "Well don't get bloody used to it." He groans, pushing off of the railing and turning his back to her.
"No, no I'm not trying to poke fun I just...it wasn't very mature of me to react by slapping you so I wasn't expecting an apology but I accept. And, I'm sorry too." She swallows, wrapping his jacket tighter around her body as the wind picks up.
It's silent for a moment between them and Eden thinks that maybe he'll just leave it at that, but he proves her wrong yet again as he turns to look at her, "You didn't have a date to the ball?" He asks her.
Eden shakes her head, looking down at her shoes in embarrassment, "No, I almost didn't go at all but I didn't want to miss out, I guess." Her cheeks reddened at the thought of how pathetic she must have looked standing off to the side all alone while everyone else slow danced.
Her face is still tilted down and she can see his shiny black dress shoes take a couple of cautious steps toward her before goosebumps erupt on her skin due to his finger being placed under her chin, tilting her head up to look into his eyes.
Draco feels his heart leap in his chest as her eyelashes flutter against her cheeks before she looks up to him, her green eyes brighter than ever in the full moon light, "I'm glad you came." He finds himself telling her his thoughts regardless of every wall he had built up trying to stop him.
"To the ball or here with you?" Eden whispers, his plump lips parted slightly as her eyes scan over his face, looking for any signs of mischief or disgust but all she could find was pure...admiration.
"Both." He breathes, his hand moving from underneath her chin to the side of her face, causing her to lean in to his touch almost like it was a natural reflex to do so. "You look beautiful tonight, Eden."
The relief she felt hearing those words from him was something that she had no clue she had ever wanted to feel. She had been longing for him to see her in that way for so long that she had almost given up hope. But here he was, saying it to her face and it wasn't a dream.
But, almost as quickly as it had happened, he removed his hand from her face and took a step back from her, "It's hard to believe, isn't it?" His hands return to their spot on the railing, wrapping his long fingers around the cold metal. Eden joins him once again, "How different things would be if you had been sorted differently just a couple of years ago."
Eden swallows the lump in her throat before she speaks, almost afraid of his reaction to what she wants to say, "Our mother's would probably be planning our wedding right now." This makes his head snap toward her and he gives her a look that says 'how do you know that?'. Eden shrugs simply, "I hear things." She says, "If your father didn't believe that there was something wrong with me, things would be completely different. It makes me quite dizzy to think of all the possibilities in a life where things were different."
Draco can sense the pain in her voice, but he almost wants to pretend like it isn't there. She couldn't be hurting over him, he was nothing compared to her. She was good and kind, everything he wasn't. "Do you ever wish for that life? Where things are different?" He asks her.
Eden looks at him, a ghost of a sad smile on her pink lips and if it were any brighter up on that tower that evening he would be able to see the tears welling in her eyes, "Everyday."
As the clock chimes, signaling another hour of the night has passed, the two realize how much time they have spent alone together and somehow they come back down to earth, "I should get going, Clara will be wondering where I am." He says her sister's name carefully, as to not dig the knife in any deeper.
"Of course," Eden smiles at him and clears her throat, sliding his jacket off of her slender shoulders, "I should be getting to bed anyway."
They lock eyes one more time and Eden knows that the next time she sees him he will be back to the Draco he pretended to be in front of everyone else. She lets her eyes study him in this moment for a little longer, holding on to the boy in front of her who she admired with every piece of her heart, every fiber of her being. "Merry Christmas, Draco." She whispers to him as he takes the jacket from her extended hand.
"Merry Christmas, Birdie."
