Io spent most of her nights walking around the castle. Despite the time away with her uncle and sister outside of the castle, the insomnia set in as soon as they set foot on Hogwarts soil. The holidays were a brief respite from everything that happened thus far - learning that Dumbledore knew he was going to die, finding out that Draco was a Death Eater - among all the insignificant things like classes and gossip.
She sat at the very top of the Astronomy Tower, letting her legs dangle off the ledge with ease. The moon was high and bright as she admired the Black Lake and the surrounding forest edge. The air was always fresh here, and the glimmer of light refracting on the water put her mind at ease.
It was well past midnight. After several days of tossing and turning to no avail, Aster gave up trying to help ease her sister's mind, instead electing to leave her alone to deal with it however she could. Io would just wander into new rooms, evading the ghosts under the shield of her Animagus disguise, and stare at the moonlight until sleep finally found her. The Astronomy Tower was her favorite spot.
The air ceased its winter chill, slowly warming up to a cool spring breeze.
The clock struck one, letting her know it was about time to head back to the common room. Hopefully, she'll finally be able to sleep. She started to make her way down the tower. The sound of shifting stones pulled her attention elsewhere.
When she turned the corner to inspect the source of the noise, Draco Malfoy emerged, looking as if he'd just walked out of the wall. He turned to look at her, almost appearing to be caught in the act. He was still wearing his uniform as if he never found the time to change.
Draco approached her slowly.
"I thought I heard something." Her eyes met his.
"I couldn't sleep." He said, emotionless. The circles under his eyes screamed insomnia, but his demeanor said otherwise.
"Neither could I." As Io spoke, she struggled to push away the memory of Dumbledore saying Draco's name. "I haven't been able to since we got back."
"Where were you -"
"- the top of the Astronomy Tower. Just to clear my head."
Draco loosened his tie. "I imagine it'd be quite easy for you to slip out of the common room as a cat."
Io grinned in the slightest, amused that he recalled this detail about her. "Not as easy as it would be for a Prefect. Though I doubt you were up here doing something related to that."
"I heard your sister wrote to Blaise over Christmas."
"They've grown very close." She nodded. "It's nice, he's a good friend to her." Taking a better look at him, Io could now see that he looked far worse than he did before. "Are you okay?"
Draco rolled his shoulders back, purposely ignoring the question.
"You just… You don't look well."
"You're starting to sound just like him. I don't know why my health is suddenly a concern to everyone."
"Would you rather I don't care at all?" Io reached into her pocket and pulled out a caramel, wrapped tightly in gold foil. "It's not food, but I don't think they'll serve dinner this late - not even for a Prefect."
Looking cautiously at the sweet in her hand, Draco accepted it, surprised but now understanding why this was her favorite.
"There you go," she giggled. "I can already see the color in your cheeks."
He didn't mean to do it. But seeing her delight in such a small gesture made him smile. He fiddled with the foil, smoothing it out and folding it over and over again.
Io studied him. His Occlumency training prevented her from hearing his thoughts, but she could read a few emotions on his face whether he knew it or not. She knew when he was deep in thought or when he was biting his tongue. His annoyance was obvious, but his confusion was not. So at times like this, when he would actually crack a smile, Io just felt an overwhelming sense of fascination. She didn't know why or what possessed her to do so, but that fascination urged her to do something that surely would catch him off guard. She reached up to his face.
Draco flinched, but soon relaxed with ease as the warmth from her fingers met his cheek. He leaned into her touch, feeling the stress of all these late nights hitting him all at once. Blaise's words were racing through his mind as the seconds passed - how he felt, how much he knew about her, and how he ultimately cared for her. He didn't know why this simple and small form of affection was making him feel a little less troubled. This wasn't magic or a potion to calm the mind, it was just her standing in front of him, keeping the demons at bay with the stroke of her fingers, pitter patters of her scent meeting greeting him once again.
Io could feel Draco's body ease into her touch. His eyes fluttered shut. The silence wasn't bad when he was like this. It was like a warm cloud, keeping them both safe from the chill of the castle walls.
"Io?"
Their moment was interrupted by Harry Potter who was standing a few feet away.
Harry looked at Io, her hand now rubbing her shoulder, then to Draco whose grimace said more than just being upset over his presence.
"Harry," Io stepped forward. "It's late, what are you -"
"Do you have nothing better to do, Potter?" Draco spoke over her. His feet were still planted firmly, but his hands cracked into fists at his side.
"I could be asking you the same, Malfoy." Harry responded smugly.
"We were about to head back to the common room," Io looked over to Draco, still sulking. "You should go back to Gryffindor tower, Harry, please."
Draco's eyes snapped up to her before hastily grabbing her arm and pulling her past Harry who lunged forward, taking her other arm. "Let go of her, Malfoy."
"Harry, don't -"
The two boys dropped their grips before charging towards each other. "Or what, Potter?" Draco reached for his wand, and Harry mirrored him just as fast.
Io stepped in between them, putting her hands on Draco's chest. "It's late, this isn't the time to do this."
Draco swatted her gesture down. "So it's true. You are friends with him."
She didn't know why it felt like she'd been caught. Harry already knew she was friendly with both of them, but she never expected that to cause conflict especially at a time like this. Io wanted to pull Draco to the side to calm him down, but he shook her off.
Harry spoke up. "I told you. Io, he's not a good person - he's showing you who he really is!"
Draco brought his wand up, nearly brushing the side of Io's face. "Do you have nothing better to do than meddle?"
Io turned her attention to Harry who had his wand arm up. "Harry, stop this! I told you -"
"What did you tell him?" Draco suddenly moved his attention to her.
"Nothing!" Io pleaded.
Draco's nose practically grazed hers as he stared her down. He looked hurt, angry, but mostly frustrated like he couldn't decide who to hex first.
"Draco, please, this isn't -"
"What is it then!" Draco's voice echoed throughout the tower. She'd never seen him yell before, and while her first reaction was to flinch, her resolve stood firm. "Whatever this is - it's nothing." His voice dropped to a whisper.
Though he didn't say much else, she knew what he meant - she and Draco were nothing.
Draco dropped his eyes again, shaking his head aggressively before leaving. Harry and Io stood alone in the corridor.
Io felt an overwhelming heat rise up in her chest. She turned to Harry. "I'm going to bed."
Harry reached for her hand, but she shook him off, quietly following after Draco's footsteps.
Draco avoided her during the time that passed. Blaise was always at his side, and he casted sympathetic glances towards her when they were near. Io started using her free period to brew draughts of dreamless sleep to avoid any other late night encounters, and though she felt more rested than she ever had before, it didn't ease the burden she felt.
Harry showed up at the library days after the confrontation. While he didn't have an explanation as to why he was there, he tried to disperse the tension with small talk and shared sweets. It helped, but it didn't erase that it ever happened.
Aster and Io pressed on with their studies. Just as Io was steering clear of Draco, Aster was more or less trying to avoid any small talk with Hermione who was now spending time with Ron now that he was out of the infirmary.
Spring was now in full force. The twins spent more time outside as anything inside the castle was too stuffy for them to handle. They studied beneath the trees by the Black Lake, only ever accompanied by herbology-enthusiastic students who never paid them any mind. Days would end with card games and mindless talk.
The girls ended another Friday at the Great Hall for dinner and small conversation. At the start of the weekend, it was always louder. Everyone would huddle around a roast, ready to share plans to visit Hogsmeade or go exploring on the grounds.
There was a crowd around the Gryffindor table today. The Quidditch players all had smiles on their faces. Aster turned to get a glimpse of what was causing such a commotion one table over.
"Hey," she called Io's attention. "Isn't that Katie Bell?"
Io leaned over to get a better look. "She's back from St. Mungo's?"
A few seats down from the large crowd, Harry Potter stood up then pulled Katie to the side. The looks on their faces weren't happy as they leaned towards each other to keep prying ears away.
"This can't be good." Aster's eyes fell elsewhere.
Io followed, seeing Draco stand at the other end of the table. The two boys looked at each other, and Draco walked off, looking more distressed than she'd ever seen him. When Harry took off soon after, Io had the worst feeling in the pit of her stomach.
"What are you doing?" Aster asked, seeing Io push her plate forward.
"This is me agreeing with you." Io grabbed her hand.
The twins followed, ducking in between the students who didn't notice the panic sifting through the crowd.
Harry ran into the boy's lavatory; Io was quick behind him. She put her arm out to stop Aster from running inside. After a brief silence, the sound of magic smacking against porcelain could be heard even from the other side of the door.
"You don't think they're dueling, do you?" Aster asked, panicking slightly.
Io pressed her ear against the door. There were several more pangs, stuns hitting metal and water rushing. "Go get someone - anyone - go!" She pushed her sister off back towards the Great Hall.
The surrounding corridor was empty. Io slowly walked into the bathroom with her wand at the ready.
There was an eerie silence, but she didn't see either of the boys. Broken pipes were frayed, and water was rushing out onto the porcelain floor. Her footsteps sloshed as it began to flood. She removed her robe, quickly discarding it on one of the stall doors.
"Sectumsempra!"
There was a white flash, and on the other side of the room, Draco's body crashed down. Red began to pool around him.
Io dropped her wand to the floor and ran to him, slipping on water and falling to her knees.
"Draco -"
She didn't know what to do. Though his white shirt showed no signs of cuts, he was bleeding through it until the fabric was soaked in crimson. His breaths were rapid, struggling from the wounds cast on his torso. With shaking hands, she tried to figure out how to heal him, how to save him. He never taught her how he mended her wound, and now here he was, dying right in front of her. She couldn't calm her breaths as she cradled his head in her arms, erratically apologizing in whispers because she couldn't stop him from hurting.
Io couldn't take her eyes off him for fear that he could bleed out at any second. She felt tears stinging her cheeks and cold water trickling down her back, soaking her uniform down to the skin. She whispered, "It's okay. You're okay. You'll be fine. Draco, you'll be fine. Don't close your eyes. You'll be fine." Draco looked up at her with pale eyes, weakly reaching for the hand he felt on his face.
Harry stood before them, trembling at the sight.
She couldn't bear to look away even though the fire in her chest told her to scream at him, to demand an explanation. Io knew they hated each other, but never imagined that hatred would end up like this. Of all the worst case scenarios, this would never have been one of them. She thought back to the last time she and Draco spoke, the bitterness he threw at her. That couldn't be the last conversation they'd ever have - not like this.
The rage that was bubbling within her wanted to take back every kind word she'd ever shared with Harry. The only thing keeping her from doing so was the motion of Draco's fingers stroking her hand as if he was trying to comfort her just as she was comforting him. Through the trembles, he managed the faintest smile at the sight of her.
Erratic wet footsteps entered the bathroom. Aster rushed in with Professor Snape. Her breath hiked, and she covered her gasp once she saw the blood, now pooled around her sister's knees.
Professor Snape kneeled down beside Io. He watched her, eyes still on Draco's, gently stroking his hair to sooth him. She was still crying, trying to control her breaths, fringe now soaked and clinging to her forehead.
Io didn't expect to feel such a gentle tug pulling her away. Snape's hand was on her shoulder, silently easing her back as she laid Draco's head back down on the floor.
They both looked at Harry who was pale with shame. He ran out of the bathroom, bumping into Aster on his way out.
Aster pulled her sister up, rubbing her arms to warm up the dampness on her sleeves. Io couldn't stop shaking. She still felt the remnants of blood on her fingertips.
Professor Snape quietly drew his wand across Draco's chest, muttering a countercurse as he did. He didn't stop until the stains were just a faint pink. The girls watched the bloodied water clear, flowing back into the wounds.
Draco's eyes shut, breaths now calm and steady.
