Title: Stars

Disclaimer: I had nothing to do with the advent of the monster that is the Harry Potter franchise.

Boot Camp: Favourite Hogwarts House Boot Camp

A/N: I wrote this for the Favourite Hogwarts House Boot Camp from the HPFC forum. I hope you enjoy it!

Prompt: Stars

Draco couldn't sleep.

He was too afraid.

Afraid of the dreams he couldn't control.

Afraid of the memories he so desperately wanted to forget.

Afraid of the past, and all its horrors.

Afraid of the future, and all the mistakes he would undoubtedly make.

Draco Malfoy was a coward.

He knew he was a coward, and it didn't bother him... much.

Okay, maybe it bothered him a great deal more than he was willing to admit, even to himself, but that didn't change the way he thought; the way he felt.

The way he shivered under the covers as the dark closed in around him.

The way terror lodged itself in his throat, and he had to take deep, gasping breaths as he struggled to breathe.

The silencing spells he had to put up every night so his dorm mates wouldn't want to kill him for waking them up with his screaming, caught in the throes of another nightmare.

An unfortunate side effect of living with the Dark Lord for a year.

His dorm mates all thought he was wanking.

Blaise was the only one who knew the truth behind the silencing spells. He would give Draco a sympathetic, pitying look as he cast them; but that was all Blaise could do.

Theo loved to tease him about growing hair on his palms.

Greg simply stared at the wall, a dull sheen to his eyes. He put up silencing spells of his own, but everyone knew why after that first night back. Draco had taken him aside the next day and taught him the silencing charms.

Greg missed Vince; was haunted by the way his best friend had died.

Draco couldn't bear to think about that.

He dreamed about it enough as it was.

Draco needed an escape.

Something to combat the fear; make him feel safe.

He found it after hours on the Hogwarts grounds.

He found it lying on his back in the cool grass, staring at the sky.

He found it in the stars.

It was the end of September, so it was cold. Draco always wore his warmest cloak.

He would lie there and stare at the stars, picking out constellations, and allowing their steady presence to calm him. When he returned to his bed, the dreams were less intense.

The stars were his anchor.

He always waited until everyone in the castle should have been asleep to sneak out.

So he was rather shocked when one night, Harry Potter materialized next to him out of thin air.

Draco wasn't sure about how to react. He sat up quickly, startled.

Potter had been stalking him again, and hadn't let up even after he assured Draco he wanted to be friends. Draco was hurt and angry, until Blaise had presented a theory: Potter wasn't waiting for him to mess up - Potter fancied him.

As ridiculous as that theory seemed, Blaise had shown him that Potter acted jealous when he touched Draco - and Draco noticed afterwards that that jealousy extended to Pansy's pawing as well. Potter also got embarrassed and flustered whenever Draco made eye contact - which proved to be very entertaining.

Not conclusive evidence; not by a long shot, but enough for Draco to wonder.

So right now Draco had no clue how to react.

He decided to take this as an opportunity to suss out more about Potter's supposed feelings towards him.

"Hullo, Potter," he said. "What brings you out here so late?"

Potter blushed. "Couldn't sleep." He avoided looking at Draco, and Draco wondered if there was more to it. "When I saw you over here, I thought I'd join you. You don't mind, do you?" He suddenly looked worried.

Draco laughed. "Of course not, Potter. We're friends now, after all."

Potter beamed, then spread out his invisibility cloak and sat down on top of it. "So what are you doing out here?" he asked, with an air of affected casualness.

"Couldn't sleep, same as you," Draco replied. Potter nodded.

"Nightmares?"

Draco started.

"I get them all the time," Potter said. Draco considered lying, then shrugged mentally.

"Yeah," he said. "Me too." He flushed, embarrassed by the admission.

"It's okay to be afraid, you know," said Potter softly. "It doesn't make you a coward."

Draco suddenly found himself fighting back tears. How had Potter known? He stared at the ground, blinking furiously.

"Hey," said Potter softly. "Look at me." He caught Draco's chin in his hand and pulled his face up to look him in the eye. "Everyone's afraid sometimes. Anyone who lived through the stuff we did would have nightmares. Horrible ones. It's normal."

"It feels like I should be stronger," whispered Draco.

"I know," Potter replied, giving a sharp, bitter laugh. "Merlin, believe me, I know."

They sat in silence, staring into each other's eyes. Draco was mesmerized. He couldn't look away. Their faces were mere inches apart, and Potter's attractiveness hit him like a bludger to the gut. His mouth suddenly went dry.

Potter was fit - very. His old baggy clothing had always hidden it well, but the new clothes he wore this term actually fit him properly and highlighted his Quidditch-toned build. The crazy hair Draco had so often made fun of was actually a good look for him; sort of sexy. His skin was lightly tanned and even his scar was sexy in its own way. His eyes were so very, very green behind those glasses.

The glasses themselves were still horrid and on a sudden impulse Draco reached over and slid them off, laying them on the ground beside Potter's knee. Potter's breath hitched.

Draco stared into his eyes, feeling captivated. Potter's pink tongue darted out and licked his full, lush lips, and Draco's breath caught in his throat. Potter's incredible eyes were filled with want. Potter leaned closer, closer... all Draco would have to do was close his eyes and lean forward and- Merlin, what was he thinking?

Draco quickly turned away. His heart was pounding the way it did after a Quidditch match with Gryffindor when Potter was the seeker - although the emotions he was feeling at the moment were very different from those after a match with Potter.

Potter fumbled with his glasses, sliding them back on. "Why'd you take these off?" he asked, voice slightly uneven.

"I wanted to see your eyes," Draco admitted. "You have very nice eyes, Potter." His voice was soft; too soft. He cleared his throat.

Potter's smile was like a small sun coming out. "Thanks." He gave Draco a shy look. "I get them from my mum."

Draco smiled back. "I'll bet she was lovely."

Potter ducked his head bashfully and nodded. "She was."

Draco turned his gaze back to the sky, and nestled back down on the grass. Beside him, he heard Potter do the same.

They laid in silence for a while, until they began speaking about constellations, and Black family history, and finally Potter family history as well. Potter lapped up everything Draco had to say like a sponge.

He knew now that Potter did, indeed fancy him. Now he just had to figure out what he was going to do about it.