The Kiss

-Your POV-

The sun was out. It shone through the glass door and onto the concrete pathway outside which led to the cars and trash containers used by all residents of the building.

Y/N had stopped on the intermediate level, looking down at the entrance door with the many mailboxes to its left.

She held the apartment key in her hand, the metal digging into the skin.

The sun began contracting, the hallway turned darker bit by bit. Y/N couldn't move, her feet were rooted into the ground.

She heard something behind her, a faint grumbling, like the hungry stomach of a giant animal.

Standing close to the wall, she felt it heating up like the building was on fire.

Two hands started creeping out of it to her left and right. She silently watched the arms growing.

They slowly wrapped themselves around Y/N's waist and then - they pulled.

Together they melted into the wall.

*****

Y/N woke up from the dream with her heart beating out of her chest. She sat up quickly and turned on a light.

She was alone in the girls' dormitory.

She was at Hogwarts, safe.

When she noticed that she still felt the arms around her stomach, she got up and tried to shake it off. Then the door opened, light fell into the room.

"There you are! I was about to wake you." Helena was walking over with a smile on her face.

"It's almost midnight. You better get dressed. God, you look awful! I told you not to take a nap. Brush your teeth and fix your hair, we are leaving in 5."

With that she was gone again. The girl hadn't even noticed the terror in Y/N's eyes but maybe that was for the better. She didn't want to talk about her nightmares.

With shaking hands, Y/N grabbed her school uniform and the scarf and hurried into the bathroom.

*****

Cold air was rushing through the Astronomy tower and Y/N was trying to set up her telescope as her mind was still buzzing from the nightmare.

"Hey Lena, how do I-"

But as she turned to her friend she noticed that the girl had gone over to Blaise, trying to make conversation as she was playing with her hair.

Y/N rolled her eyes. Maybe if she asked one of the Ravenclaws? Something wasn't right with her lenses.

"Let me help you."

She almost jumped at the sound of Draco's voice. Y/N took one look at him and almost immediately regretted it.

The Slytherin was being illuminated by the moon and drenched completely in its cool light. His eyes looked darker than usual, almost like black diamonds in a sea of white. The brows were firm brushstrokes completing the painting of the marble boy.

She turned away. "Thanks but I don't need help."

Since Hermione had told her about Draco's father, Y/N had been trying to ignore him. The motto was: Don't look, don't think, don't speak. Because everytime she did, she got pulled in more and more. Like as if her affection was quicksand, just waiting to swallow.

"You do need help. Else you might break it."

Without waiting for permission, Draco started setting up her telescope.

Y/N shifted away uncomfortably which he seemed to notice but he didn't say anything.

"Did you have Astronomy at Ilvermorny?"

"No."

"You missed out on a lot then. It's probably my favorite subject. There you go."

Draco took a step back and looked at Y/N as if he was waiting for a response.

"Thanks."

Only now the girl noticed that he had put his telescope next to hers.

Why? Why wasn't he with his friends like always?

She was about to ask him when the teacher arrived.

"Aurora Sinistra," Draco mumbled. Y/N didn't say anything.

Professor Sinistra started talking.

"Astronomy is more than just looking at stars. We will be learning about all the mysteries the universe holds, without the need of magic. I hope you will be able to respect this delicate science and dare to ask questions even I can't answer."

The witch looked over her students' faces, looking for some motivation. But most were just tired.

"To start off your new school year, we will be studying Jupiter, the biggest moon of our solar system. If you please turn to your telescopes."

She gave instructions on how to find the planet in the night sky and everyone quietly followed them.

Y/N didn't remember ever looking through a telescope before and was struck by the sheer beauty of the endless web above her head. Jupiter was a bit tricky to find but once she did, she almost couldn't believe her eyes.

"Please take a few minutes to study the planet as well as any close object you might find."

And so she did. The different shades of brown wrapped themselves around the planet like rings. However, one big orange spot interrupted them.

"Do you see the moons?" Draco asked quietly.

Y/N moved around the telescope but gave up after a bit. She shook her head. "No."

"Look through mine." Draco stepped to the side.

Y/N hesitated for a second but her curiosity beat the wariness.

She leaned down to look through Draco's telescope. It was directly pointing at a round object. This one was brown and grey with many lines pulling through the surface. It looked like it had been scratched by a cat.

"Have you ever wondered if there is other life in the universe?"

"I have," Y/N mumbled as she examined the planet.

The telescope was warm in the places where Draco had touched it.

"As far as we know, life requires water but no close planet has water. But this moon...what you're looking at is a very thick layer of ice. And guess what's underneath."

"Water," Y/N whispered.

She looked up at Draco and saw him smiling.

"Maybe underneath all that ice, the sea is full of anaerobic micro organisms. Extraterrestrial life in our planet's own neighborhood.

Y/N listened to every word with fascination. Draco's dark eyes were sparkling with passion and the fact that he chose to share it with her, filled her stomach with warmth.

They just looked at each other for a little while, then he started grinning.

"Looks like I'm a nerd afterall."

"Yeah, looks like we are both-"

"Now what do we have here?" Professor Sinistra interrupted the moment by looking through the telescope.

"Very good, Mr. Malfoy. You found Europa. Now see if you can spot Io as well."

She went to check on other students.

Draco winked at Y/N and then returned his attention to Jupiter.

*****

Once the class has ended, everyone was busy taking down their telescopes again. Professor Sinistra came over once more to praise Draco for his good work during the lesson.

Draco being friendly with a teacher was a rare sight and he seemed to enjoy the compliments.

Once Y/N had taken down her telescope with the boy's help, he held her back.

Most students had already left but it seemed like Draco wanted to enjoy the night a bit longer. And he wanted Y/N to be a part of it.

He looked up into the night sky.

"My family has a tradition of naming their children after stars."

Y/N carefully stepped next to him and leaned against the stone railing.

"Which star is Draco?"

"It's a constellation."

Y/N tensed up slightly when he suddenly put his arm around her waist, grabbing hers softly to lift it into the air.

"Do you see the Little Dipper?"

"Mhm."

He now stood behind her, his chest slightly pressing against her back.

He was warm. And he smelled really good. Y/N shivered.

Draco navigated her hand through the sky.

"If you take this star of the Little Dipper and go to the left, you meet the tail of the dragon."

They traced the stars one by one and Y/N prayed that he couldn't hear her beating heart.

"And there's the head."

"Wow." That was all she could say.

He lowered her arm but didn't let go.

"Y/N?" His hot breath stroked her cheek.

"Mhm?"

"You've talked with Potter about me, didn't you?"

Blood rushed into her face. How did he know?

"I..."

"Don't lie. Why else would you be acting so differently all of a sudden?"

She couldn't see his face as he was still behind her but beneath the calmness his voice sounded both upset and hurt.

"I didn't initiate the conversation. They were just worried about me."

Draco stayed quiet for a bit as they looked into the sky.

Then his voice was back, right next to Y/N's ear. For a millisecond, his nose touched her cheek.

"There are a lot of things you don't know. I was hoping I could introduce myself to you the way I thought was right. Instead of letting you form an opinion on my reputation and name alone."

The words burnt deeply in Y/N's soul. The Draco from the owlery was back.

She swallowed, her whole body was vibrating.

"I'm not going to lie, there are things I've heard that worry me. But I do believe that the best person who can teach me about you is...you."

She hoped that Draco understood what she was trying to say.

Y/N turned around, his hand glid off her arm.

She noticed that all other students had left the Astronomy tower. They were alone. And so close.

His skin looked so soft in the moonlight, tender wind was brushing through his hair. His eyes were dancing over her face, unable to rest.

Y/N was thinking about what she could say. Something meaningful. She wanted to create a star analogy that only he would understand but her mind was empty. All she could do was look at him.

Finally, their eyes met and Y/N fell into the deepest depths of the universe.

Draco leaned down a bit and before she realized what was happening, he was kissing her.

She froze for a second but then allowed herself to keep falling. Deeper and deeper. His soft lips touched her heart and she cupped his face to make sure he couldn't pull back.

Neither of them really knew what they were doing but in the end it didn't matter.

At that moment, they found the rawest and most honest of connection.

And for the blink of an eye their souls became one.