Of Constellations → 𝘥. 𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘧𝘰𝘺

viii. draco, the dragon

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chapter eight

draco, the dragon

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"I chickened out. I'm turning in one on Cepheus."

Theo was waiting for me near the Ravenclaw common room before class, examining the portrait of circus animals prowling about a dark, reality-warped village. When I spoke, he faced me with a puzzled frown.

"What? Why?" he asked and we started on our way down the corridor.

"Because I read it back again and it sounds like a love letter," I said. "It's weird."

"Right. A love letter to the constellation. I read your essay too, you know. Literally no one is going to read it and think yes, this paragraph describing stellar aberration in great detail clearly represents Mars's love for Draco Malfoy."

"It's odd, okay? It makes me feel weird to turn it in."

"You are greatly overthinking this, my friend."

"I'm in Ravenclaw. That's, like, our thing," I said as we got to the tower's spiral staircase. Theo scoffed and shook his head and we entered the clear night. There was a chill in the air partially cut by the warm Gulf Stream breeze from the west.

Like usual, we set up our telescopes and got started with class, which was all about main sequence stars—how they began as a cloud of gas and dust, slowly drawing together until they gained enough mass to begin nuclear fusion.

"That's enough for tonight, I think, class. Your next assignment is to research dwarves, giants, and supergiants on your own. Be ready to answer questions next time. House points for students who get them right!" Sinistra said what to me felt like only a few minutes later. "Turn in your essays, please!"

Some students rushed over right away to turn in their papers, but I packed my telescope first. After Draco knocked it over last year, I was extra protective over it.

I opened my folder and fished out my paper, only to reveal the one written on Draco underneath, the name of the constellation in big letters at the top and a terrible attempt of mine at drawing a dragon stretched out below it.

A shot of adrenaline rushed through me and I quickly snapped it shut, holding it to my chest. Hoping no one saw anything, I quickly put it back into my bookbag. When I got to my feet, I glanced around the tower, but no one seemed to be paying me any attention.

With a sigh, I joined Theo and we walked to the other side of the tower, where Professor Sinistra was standing with a huge stack of papers accumulating next to her.

Why hadn't I taken out the essay on Draco before heading to class? That was the whole point of writing the essay on Cepheus—to not risk it being seen. I focused on the frantic half-hour during which I wrote the paper in a panic. On the brink of being late, I guess I'd just forgotten it was there. Shit!

"Perseus, the Hero!" said Sinistra, smiling brightly at Theo. I gave her my essay next, which was quite a bit smaller than the one I'd written on Draco. She leaned in to examine it. "Cepheus, the King, containing some of the largest stars in the observable universe! Very interesting choice, Mars. I'm greatly looking forward to reading this!"

A flicker of regret passed through me. I'd written the essay so last minute, I knew that it wasn't my best work. Sinistra was surely expecting something much more heartfelt and compelling than what I'd given her. I hated to disappoint her but it was too late now.