Love, Astoria

star date

July 21st 2000

Astoria arrived early to the location. She began to set up her telescope. It was among the newer Wizarding models, being gifted to her by Professor Sinistra when the professor realized she had an extra.

Astoria had taken it to her accountability to get everything else ready. She always got cold in the night, so she brought the things she knew she would need. Astoria's eyes were not dropping, they were quite awake, eagerly waiting for Draco to arrive.

"Lumos!" She said, making her wand light up the dark night sky. It was a thankfully clear night, and the only means of illumination was the half-moon.

She heard the crunching of leaves, making her head turn to see none other than Draco Malfoy. He was different from the time of he Battle of Hogwarts. He was a bit more tall, and from what Astoria could see, his eyes had dark circles. He looked so much older and mature.

"Hi," Astoria smiled at him, starting everything off.

"Hello," Draco resounded, sitting down beside her. He seemed like he was on edge, like there was a danger about to come. Astoria could not figure out quite what was wrong seeing as nobody was around, but she knew Draco had gone through many things during the war.

He was carrying a large brown satchel with a Slytherin crest, so it must've been his school bag.

"You brought the telescope." Draco observed. "And a million blankets."

"Of course." Astoria replied, fidgeting with the telescope. "It's cold."

Draco chuckled, and it was then that she noticed how he had short sleeves on. She gasped at him.

He chuckled again. "I got used to the Slytherin common room cold."

"I never did." Astoria countered. "I always had to have the seat by the fire. It was a bit of an inside jokes with my mates and I, to tell the truth."

Draco smiled at her. Under the moonlight and Astoria's wand, Draco seemed to be a bit more happier. She liked his smile. It wasn't a bully kind of smile, it was one that would send a panicking friend into an ease. It was calming, and Astoria wanted to make the poor boy smile more.

Draco broke the smile and looked up at the sky. Despite not completely seeing them, Astoria was memorized by his eyes. The gray background helps the stars sparking in it pop out.

Draco looked back at her, noticing she was staring. He had a small smile on his lips, not backing down. He stared at hers back. His gray locked into her green. Astoria never liked her eyes, they weren't a pretty forest green, they were bright and obnoxious. They were like a poisonous toad. That was the first thing people noticed about her. Truth be told, she was getting tired of it.

"Your eyes are pretty," Draco said. She almost groaned in frustration, thinking he was going to be like everyone else's. "Like...like a nostalgic candy. The ones that taste like sweet apples, but not too sour. The eyes that dye your tongue green, by then going to look in a mirror and showing your parents your newly colored mouth."

Astoria quirked her eyebrow at him, surprised by his oddly specific description that made her crave green apple candy.

"You're observant," Astoria looked back into his gray eyes.

Draco shrugged. "Kinda have to be as a Healer. The war made me see everything in a new light. It made me notice the smaller things."

Astoria modded at him. "Your eyes..." Astoria thought for a second. "They're the kind of gray that you would paint your walls with. The kind of gray that brings solidarity, and a feeling of being okay."

Draco smiled at her. Although her description was not worthy of Draco's, Draco was still elated that his seemingly boring eyes were seen as a comfort.

They sat there a long time, looking at the starts. Astoria showed Draco the different constellations, and he recognized the names of his family members. The stars were much more pretty than their personalities.

Astoria let out a yawn, signaling her tiredness.

"You need to sleep?" Draco asked her quietly.

Astoria grumbled something inaudible. Draco chuckled. "Go to sleep, darling."

Something about his whisper, his voice brought Astoria a comfort. Draco lied down on the ground, and Astoria placed her head on his torso.

When Draco was sure Astoria was asleep, he twirled pieces of her hair in between his fingers. It was a while before Draco fell asleep, but for the first time in years, Draco did not have a nightmare.

~~~

A/N: I move them. They are too precious.

Anyways, sorry this out out like three weeks late. Things happened, and I just didn't want to update, so I kinda forgot about this book. Everything is fine now, but I just wanted to be honest with you guys!