~Harry's POV~
I had noticed Draco looking at my hand when we started walking up the spiral staircase. He looked a bit upset and was trying to hide it by biting the inside of his cheek. I felt bad, so I grabbed his hand without looking over at him. I could almost sense his face lighting up when I interlocked my fingers with his.I try to keep a straight face and stare ahead of me because I know if I turn to look at Draco, I'll start smiling and blushing uncontrollably. I may have been the one who grabbed HIS hand, but that didn't mean I wanted to make it obvious. His hand fit perfectly in mine. As if they were made as a pair. We didn't say anything as we finally joined the rest of the class.
"Well it looks like we have the whole eighth year of students here. Let's begin our lesson, shall we?" Professor Sinistra says in a soft but squeaky voice. She is a petite woman who is very passionate about Astronomy. I had always thought she was a great teacher and her class was one of my favorites. It was peaceful to look up at and study the stars.
"I want you all to get into pairs. Today we will be studying the constellation Scorpius." I turn to Draco and smile. He nods already knowing what I was going to ask. Ron and Hermione will probably be paired up anyways. We make our way over to one of the telescopes. At some point, we had stopped holding hands. I can't help but feel something missing without the warmth of his hand. I shiver and step closer to Draco.
"Are you cold?" he asks worriedly.
"I'm alright." I say smiling. He nods and gives a small smile in return.
~
Professor Sinistra explains how the constellation originated and how it got its name. Scorpius is a Latin name that means scorpion. Apparently some muggles call it a 'zodiac sign'. I'm not exactly sure what that means, but she explained that it had something to do with your birthday. Once she showed us what the constellation looked like and where to find it, we were allowed to use the telescopes.
I step up to the telescope excitedly. Aiming the lens towards the sky, I adjust the position until I find what I'm looking for. Scorpius is noticeable for the brightness of the stars at this time.
I turn back to Draco smiling proudly to find him staring at me with a fond expression.
"What?" I ask. He shakes his head and runs his hand through his hair.
"Nothing, you just seemed so excited and determined. Like a child when they're challenged." He says smirking. I laugh softly and blush a bit.
"Well I found the constellation. It's beautiful. Wanna see it?" I step out of the way so he can look through the lens. He shrugs and walks over to take a look. After a minute he pulls away and turns to me.
"You're right. It is beautiful, but you know what's even more beautiful?" he places his hands in the pockets of his jeans. I think for a second, but can't come up with an answer so I shrug. He smiles and steps closer. I feel my heart beat speed up a bit. "You." Is all that Draco says. My heart melts at the works. I'm blushing furiously but I don't care. I smile up at Draco.
"So are you." I say finally. I want to kiss him so badly right now, but basically everyone we know is here. There are some people that are already staring. I sigh and sit down on the floor instead. Draco sits down beside me. Since we're done with the assignment, we can talk for the rest of class which is really only about five more minutes.
Neither of us says anything for a minute. We just sit enjoying each others company. At some point, Draco scooted closer so that we were shoulder to shoulder. I smile to myself slightly.
"I always liked the name Scorpius." Draco says breaking the silence.
"Really?" I ask.
"Yeah, I guess it just always sounded cool to me." he shrugs. I watch him as he talks. There's a ghost of a sneer on his face. A habit that he'll probably never shake. His eyes squint a little bit when he says certain things and he sets his jaw when he finishes a sentence. Draco tilts his head towards we thoughtfully.
"Staring Potter?" he asks, smirking. I blush and look away, but I can't help the smile that tugs at my mouth.
"Maybe I am." I turn my head back to Draco. We look into each others eyes. He smiles sadly and so do I. I continue to stare at him until Professor Sinistra dismisses the class. I hold Draco back and wait until most of the students have gone down ahead of us. Once they did, I grab Draco's hand again and we make our way down the stairs.
"I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" I hesitate for a second but then stand on my toes and peck Draco on the cheek. He nods and I turn to follow the rest of the Gryffindors. I suddenly feel a hand grab my wrist and pull me towards them. It's Draco. He brings me into a kiss, a real one, and then pulls away smiling. I'm shocked so my mouth hangs open slightly.
"I'll see you tomorrow then." Draco says, leaving me to stare at him in a bit of a daze. When I come back to my senses, I jog off towards Gryffindor tower grinning widely.
~
The rest of the week goes by smoothly. I go to my classes, talk to Ron and Hermione, and hang out with Draco more often. I've gotten a bit of my confidence back being around him, so I hold his hand in the hall from time to time. Some people have started to notice, but so far no one seems bothered by it. I do hear people whispering occasionally, but it doesn't bother me so much anymore. As long as I have Draco.
Saturday comes quickly. I wake up excitedly and head over to Ron's bed.
"Ron wake up." I say shaking him. "Come on, we;re going to get some food and go to Hogsmeade today." Ron's eyes fly open at the mention of food. He yawns and swings his legs over the side of the bed.
"Mornin' Harry." he says while grabbing his things. I smile and shake my head. Of course the possibility of food would wake him up. I grab my things and get dressed for the day too. I grab some jeans, a shirt, and a red hoodie that's a bit to big on me. Once I'm ready, I wait for Ron and then we head to the common room.
"Morning boys." Hermione says looking up from her book as we come down. "You guys ready?" We look at each other and then nod to Hermione, following her to the Great Hall for breakfast.
None of us talk very much in the morning. I get some pancakes and eat those like almost every morning. Once I'm full, I look over to the Slytherin table. Draco looks up as if sensing my stare and I smile. He gives a tired smile back and then returns to his food. I turn back to my plate as well.
Ten minutes later, Ron and Hermione both finish their food.
"Let's go back up to the dorm real quick. I need to grab something and you two should make sure you don't forget anything." she shoots a look toward Ron. He puts his hands up in front of him and I laugh. One of us always forgets something and it's usually Ron. I look over at Draco to make sure he knows we're leaving. He nods and I smile. I follow Ron and Hermione back to the dorm. They're holding hands and I can't help but miss Draco even though I know that I'll see him soon. When we get to the Portrait, Ron speaks the password.
"23 Sickles." he said. The portrait swings open and both Ron and Hermione step through. When I don't make a move to follow, Hermione turns back to me.
"You coming Harry?" she asks.
"I'm just going to wait out here. I'm meeting Draco and plus I have nothing to grab." I say. She nods her head in understanding and the Portrait closes behind her. I sigh and lean up against the wall. It's only about a minute when I see a familiar blond heading towards me. I smile and push away from the wall. The figure stops in front of me. I look them up and down and bite my lip to hide my blush.
"You look nice." I say finally landing my eyes on his.
"Thanks. You don't look too bad yourself." Draco says back. I give him a small shove and he pulls me into a hug. I smile and wrap my arms around him. I pull away when I see the Portrait swing open. Hermione and Ron come through. Hermione smiles when she sees Draco, but Ron looks a bit confused.
"What's Malfoy doing here?" He asks. It's not hostile though, just genuinely confused as Ron often was.
"I invited him. I hope you don't mind." I say. Ron opens his mouth to respond but Hermione interrupts.
"Of course we don't mind." she says grabbing Ron's hand. "Shall we go now?" I smile at her politeness and nod.
"Yes we shall." I say.
~~~~~~~~~~
Yay! Harry's becoming more confident and Draco's becoming happier!
Thank you guys for reading, I really appreciate it. Hope you're enjoying the story!
❤-Fanon_is_better