Love Never Dies. (Draco Malfoy Fan Fiction) (Watty Awards 2013 Winner)

Chapter 41: Stars in a Jar.

A/N: Here's the next chapter. Hopefully it's good. I've created something that isn't in the original Harry Potter series by JK Rowling, it was something I created for the sake of this story for fun.  Thank you for voting and for adding my story into your reading list/library. Please comment on anything that can be improved on or if you're loving the story so far. I'll be adding more POVs when the story is completed in Rachel's POV. Thank you and keep reading! x

His arm slides down to my waist as we make our way out of the castle, dodging the various security traps Snape set for intruders. The traps sensed our alliance to the certain someone so they give way, letting us pass through smoothly. 

The candy-coloured stained glass that lined the windows with fragile frames and warm light glowing from within told me that I was at Hogsmeade. Small shops that lined the street gave me a nostalgic feeling. I smiled as I recognised the sweet shop that I used to go to all the time to get all sorts of candy. I wasn't paying attention to where we were headed and before I knew it, we were on our way up the small hill that had a familiar feel to it. Draco leads me up to the top where there was a small clearing. He left me alone there for a moment before he crept up behind me, his arms around my waist. The sun was already setting for it was winter. He turns me around and my eyes see the familiar scenery as I did four years ago. The ice capped towers of Hogwarts sparkled mystically, the small particles of snow reflecting the golden sunlight. 

"Is this - " I ask, my mind remembering that day Draco brought me up here in third year.

"Yeah it is. It's still the same, isn't it?" his chin on my shoulder and I feel him smiling. I nod, tears in my eyes. Everything felt nostalgic. Draco's chin on my shoulder, his arms around my waist, the scenery of the castle at sunset... We stood that way for a while, waiting until the sun set. When he let go of me, I turned around to see him gone. I panicked for a moment until he reappeared, his wand illuminating his face and mine in a white glow. 

In his hands was a small jar. It was made of glass that was thick and had bubbles between the two surfaces. Handmade, I thought. It had a wooden cork that sealed the opening tightly but Draco opened it with a mere jerk of his hand and hands his wand to me, asking me to hold it as he places the cork into his pocket.

"What are you doing?" I ask, my eyes following his movements in the dark.

"Let me show you," he takes his wand back from me, Nox-ed it and places his arm around my shoulders, his wand in his hand that went around my shoulders. "Detachify St". He pointed his wand at a star that shimmered in the sky and it came shooting down into the jar, shrunken from it's original size. It remained in the jar, hovering along the middle and side, shimmering like it appeared to in the night sky it once belonged in but now in Draco's hands. 

"What - " Draco cut me off.

"This is a Star Jar. It's got to be made by the user to contain the stars he removes from the sky. The stars don't extinguish in the jar, since the hardwork put into the making of the jar sustains them for life," he explains, raising the jar up to my eye level for me to see. 

It was like a miniature sky all in itself. The star shimmered from within like a spark. "It's so beautiful." Draco plucks another star from the sky, the tiny ball of fire shrunk and shot into the jar. Two stars. He resealed the jar with the cork and gives it to me. "It's for you. Since the stars never extinguish, I want you to remember how I won't ever stop loving you. Keep it safe."

When the jar touched the palm of my hand, it was warm and a gentle shiver ran up my arm. I look at it and the mini sky was in my hands, contained in the small jar. Draco presses his lips against my forehead before he leans his head on my shoulder. I was almost mesmerised by the jar. It was beautiful, more than I could ever ask for. "Thank you." I look to my side to look at him. He had his eyes closed and I could feel his chest move up and down, breathing steadily. I gaze up into the sky. Navy blue and dark purple at the same time. Wrapping the jar with my arms, I lean on Draco's head and gaze into the night sky.

He lifts his head and I do the same. He takes my hand and we steady down the hill and head back to Hogwarts. The traps suddenly came upon us and I let out a scream. But it wasn't long until the traps gave way once again after sensing our alliance and we made our way back into the castle. It was cold and dingy, the corridors dark, cold and grey. The small pots of flames that once lined the corridors were now non-existent. Hogwarts has never seemed so dead and rid of joy. What joy could there be, anyway? Death eaters were in the school and Dementors were crawling along the grounds. We reach the common room and Esme was waiting for me. 

"Goodnight," Draco lets go of my hand. "I love you."

"I love you too," I say before he kisses me full on the lips. His hands on my cheeks. He releases me and I make my way up to my room.

I see a white interdepartmental note hovering over my nightstand. Esme was seated on her bed, her eyes annoyed and angry. "That note's been over there for over an hour and where have you been the whole day?!" 

"I... I was doing stuff," I look at her and she pipes down, knowing exactly what I was referring to.

"Right. Whatever," she said, trying to brush the situation aside. I glance at her with a questioning look. "Pansy is pissing me off. She's such a bitch I mean he's been flirting with Blaise now that she found out that you and Draco are married." I sigh. Typical Pansy. 

"Don't let her get to you. Besides, Blaise isn't the type who would like Pansy," I answer her, taking the note into my hands and unfolding it. It read -

Rachel,
See me in my office tomorrow at six the morning. Don't bring Draco with you and don't tell him about this.

Professor Snape

I look up again after placing the jar on the table carefully. What did Snape want to see me for that Draco couldn't know? I was apprehensive of what Snape was going to tell me but since he was our mentor, it should be fine. 

I wash up and I slide under the covers. I take the jar in my hands and I stare into it. Despite the dim light that surrounded the room, the contents of the jar was dark, like the night sky. Maybe the jar was to tell how the sky looked like from the outside. The two stars that shimmered from the inside reminded me of Draco and myself. I smiled before I put it down on my nightstand and finally lay down to sleep.