The Stars Aligned

Chapter 25

Stars tumbled toward the ground, streaming balls of fire and light. But there was only him. There was only Draco.

It was as if someone had set off an explosion, my eyes squeezing tight as soon as our lips clashed.

He tasted the way it feels to laugh.

Bright, incandescent.

His lips were soft, yet firm, pushing hard against mine, pouring a thousand feelings and thoughts into our kiss. It felt as if I was melting, my body molding to fit into his. I brought my hands to his neck, locking my arms around him. One of his hands left my face, and he wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me tighter against him.

It was everything, yet it was nothing. It was the final destination, yet it was home.

Home. Draco was home.

"It's you," he whispered onto my lips between kisses. "It's you. It's always been you. Everything I do is for you."

I cried out and dragged my feet, wanting more, more of the amazing boy I had fallen so deeply in love with. His back slammed against a thick tree trunk, and he chuckled under his breath. I finally brought my eyes to his wonderful grey ones, the grey of the sharpest blade. And then I was twirled and my back was pressed against the bark, Draco smirking before claiming my mouth with his once more.

He nudged his tongue gently, asking me. I answered by kissing him fiercely, running my hands across his shoulders and pushing my tongue into his mouth. Draco gasped, softly running his hands through my curls and down my sides.

I drew back suddenly, a blush forming on my cheeks. "I... I don't—"

He shook his head, tucking my hair behind my ear. "I don't want to either, Granger. I want..." Draco hesitated, eyes faltering. "I want to wait. Until marriage." A low laugh, another shake of his head. "That sounds completely mental—"

I pressed my lips into his, only pulling away after a few moments, his face flushed. "It's lovely," I promised. "And I feel the same way."

His resulting smile was the embodiment of dreams.

I giggled when he pecked my lips, tugging me forward to lay down on the grass again. I nestled in the crook of his shoulder, unable to wipe the smile off of my face. Gazing up, the stars shot across the night sky, as luminous as the sun.

That's when it clicked.

I gasped aloud, finally piecing it together. "The prophecy."

I felt him nod. "It's now."

Lightning brings them together, and changes the norm. Then later, the analysis: an explosion brings them together and changes everything. "Oh."

Draco sat up, laying my head gently on the ground, hovering over me. "What's going on in that big brain of yours, Granger?"

"The lightning," I explained. "The explosion. I think it's just... Us. And the way we feel for each other."

He grinned, brighter than the falling stars above. "Quite dramatic."

I grinned back, and his faded slightly. "But I understand."

"Understand what?"

"Why this," He gestured between us. "Us, changes the war."

I inclined my head, waiting for him to continue. Draco's voice came out firm, but strained, as if it was a struggle to keep it from breaking. "If you hadn't felt the same way, I would've let him do anything to me, make me do anything for him. I would've shut out the world and folded in on myself." He brought his fingers to intertwine with mine, and it was like we matched. Like his hand was made to hold mine. "I don't think I would have cared what happened to anyone," He continued, looking guilty at the thought. "Not if the girl I so desperately loved truly despised me."