━━━━  · 。ﾟ☆ .☽ .* ☆ﾟ. ━━━━

(adj.) unfamiliar, rare, strange,
and yet marvelous

EXAM WEEK WAS UPON THEM AND LOUIS WAS PARTIALLY SURE THAT HE HAD PASSED HIS.     He had practically memorized the entirety of his Astronomy textbook front to back and cover to cover so he pretty much had his exam in the bag. He told all of this to Luna at breakfast, who took note of how much more chipper he was than he had been last week.

    "I'm pretty sure I passed my Astronomy exam last night so that gives me something to smile about," Louis replied, smirking at the fair-haired blonde.

    "You know what else you can smile about? Slughorn's party," Luna reminded him, "do you have anything to wear?"

    "I. . ." Louis trailed, trying his best to remember if he had packed any semi-formal clothing into his trunk. Remembering that he hadn't packed any because he hadn't expected to be going to a private party at school any time soon, he finally answered, "No."

    "Not a problem, then. I'm sure you'll find something marvelous." Luna smiled brightly, reassuring the brunet. Louis couldn't help but smile in return, knowing that Luna always managed to brighten his day, even though it was just on the cusp of beginning. And with it being exam week, it gave Louis a little extra free time to do whatever he set his mind to, whatever his heart desired. There wasn't a lot on his list of things to do besides read, write, and the occasional Quidditch practice, however, since those were the three things he loved most, he was willing to do them. It had been built into his system, molded into a routine of reading throughout the day and writing into the night, doing his best not to disturb the other students with his constant pen-against-parchment scratching.

     If someone had to ask Louis if he could pinpoint why he had started writing, he couldn't quite tell them due to the reason that he had just done it out of nowhere, not really having a reason to pen all of thoughts save for the eternal joy that it brought him whenever he wrote. His mother had argued that he had started doing it as a coping mechanism for his father's leaving as a way to properly express all of his inner rage without magically setting something in the house aflame. If he had tried to find any of his older journals, he wouldn't have been able to find them because he had tossed them all, not wanting to revisit any of those emotionally traumatic memories.

    Now, now it was different. The material he was thinking of, the words he was putting to the parchment, it was all different. He had someone in mind when he wrote and he didn't know whether or not they were to thank or to blame. It was beginning to feel like the former.

It was as though it were beginning to feel like clockwork, Draco finding and seeing Louis on the couch and in front of the fireplace with whatever book in his hands every night. It was too cold to sneak up to the Astronomy Tower this time of year so this was what he had settled on, something more comfortable than the cold, concrete confines of the Tower.

    Louis wasn't wearing his glasses so Draco assumed that he wasn't reading anything at the moment. The light from the warm, blazing fire bounced off of his curly head, replicating that halo effect Draco had seen that first night at dinner.

     "You're staring," Louis muttered, not bothering to look up.

Draco frowned. "How'd you even know it was me? You're not even looking."

     "You have a unique way of walking." Louis finally looked up at him, smirking. "It's this specific brush that sort of makes a sweeping sound against the floor because you don't pick your foot up completely."

     "Well, that's not creepy at all."

     Louis huffed out a laugh, his smile widening. "What brings you here, Draco?"

    "Last time I checked, this was a public library."

    "Which you're never in."

    "Haha, very funny. I need your help."

    "With?" Louis raised his arms over his head stretched out his torso, his shirt lifting just the tiniest bit and exposing the waistband of his pants and some of his skin. Draco gulped and did his best to keep the dragon that was breathing down his neck at bay.

    "I've been slacking with my Potions studies, I have an exam tomorrow, and I'm hoping I don't fail."

    "What did I say about us Ravenclaws being more than just one-dimensional study buddies?"

    Draco gave him a look and Louis playfully rolled his eyes. "I'm just pulling your leg, Draco. Now, come on and sit or else you're never gonna pass."

    Draco took a seat next to Louis on the couch and passed his Potions textbook over to him before resting his head back against the armrest and bringing his socked feet into him as to not invade Louis's space. "It's mainly just terms that I need to be able to memorize."

     Louis flipped through the pages of the textbook, taking in the words and the notes scribbled in the margins. "You guys learned how to make an Amortentia potion? What'd it smell like?"

    "I couldn't quite tell because mine wasn't entirely all that accurate. Reckon it'd smell like you?"

     "I didn't say that, but it wouldn't hurt if it did."

     Draco went quiet then, that dragon having a little too much fun burning his neck. Flustered, he grumbled, "Just shut up and read to me."

     "All right, all right. Bossy."

In between the half hour the two had spent studying, Draco was getting fidgety, trying to find new ways to rest his head against the armrest with no luck to follow.

    "Are you all right?" Louis asked, stopping midsentence to look at Draco, who was still moving around. Louis was surprised that he hadn't fallen off of the couch yet with how much he was fidgeting.

    "I'm fine," replied Draco, "just keeping going. We're almost finished with the list, anyway."

    Louis sighed, closing the book as he did so. Draco scrunched an eyebrow. "What are you doing? We were almost- "

    "Come here," Louis cut Draco off, setting the book aside as he did so.

"What?"

"Just. . .come here. Come lie down."

    "Where?"

    "Next to me, wise one. I don't bite."

    Draco gave him a look, taking a moment to wonder where his response could've come from. "I never said that you did."

    "Sure, but your face gave it away. Now, come on. You look like you're in pain."

    "Maybe that's just my face," Draco retorted. Louis let out another sigh, hanging his head and shaking it, a small smile breaking across his face. "You're not gonna make this any easier on me, are you?"

    "Have I ever?"

    Louis didn't respond. Instead, he went to lie back against the couch, patiently waiting for Draco to take up the invitation, if he was ever going to take it. He had to remember that they were here on Draco's terms so whatever he said, went.

    "Imagine we're on the Astronomy Tower," Louis offered, "it's not any different than that. Sure, we'll be closer but little distance never hurt anyone."

    As if that was what got Draco to move, he slowly made his way over to Louis's end of the couch and tucked himself into Louis's side, with his back towards the couch cushion, before reluctantly resting his head on his shoulder, testing to see if Louis was okay with it. What he got was an extremely comforting arm wrapping around him in response.

    "Better?" Louis asked, reaching around so he could crack open the Potions textbook again, trying to find the page they were last left on before getting comfortable again.

    "Much." What Draco let out was a sigh of relief entangled with a bit of content at the warmth and the contact, tired crystalline bones finally being able to settle, even if it was for just a moment. "I don't think I've ever felt this comfortable before. I've always felt quite, I don't know, stiff. Rigid."

     "Really?" There was a tinge of wonderment in Louis's tone, impulsively pulling Draco in closer at the answer. "Wasn't hugged much as a kid?"

     Reflexively, Draco tightened his grip around Louis's abdomen at that. It was well-known to him that his parents loved him, however, there was something settling within him that made him begin to think that that was beginning to change. He tried to think of the last time he had gotten a hug from either of his parents—it had been too long. "That, too."

      Louis then continued on with reading for a few more passing moments, feeling the crook of his elbow being grasped in the process and a warmth beginning to pool in the pit of his stomach from it all—the closeness in proximity, the contact, and the warmth between them. He was soon met with a quiet snore and a timid hand around his midsection. Looking over, it must have been the most at peace Louis had ever seen Draco, with the way he was always resembling death when he stood, whenever Louis did see him.

    He was slow in moving a wisp of hair from out of Draco's face before taking his finger down and lightly tracing the bridge of his nose, getting a quick intake of breath and a scrunch of his nose in response before Draco settled once more.

     "You're staring again," Draco muttered, stirring, not bothering to open his eyes.

    "I'm not staring," Louis replied quietly, no real bite to his retort. His voice had gone soft, almost muddled because his mouth barely moved as he spoke, trying not to let any harsh consonants leave his lips.

    "Right." Draco finally opened his eyes, his vision still a little bleary with sleep. "You're observing. Doesn't make it any less creepy, though."

    "You didn't seem to have a problem with it the other night."

     "I was awake then," Draco retorted, "why'd you stop reading?"

     "You fell asleep on me. How could you possibly be able to understand anything that's going on if you're knocked out?"

     "I don't care about the book. I just like listening to the sound of your voice." Draco tucked his head into Louis's shoulder before he instantly froze at what had come out of his mouth, having no way for the confession to make the return into his subconscious, where it was supposed to lay until he was close to having the light finally leave his eyes when his time came. Slowly, he looked over to Louis who had that same specific look in his eyes he had a moon or two ago—the one that made Draco believe he could see the cosmos reflected in them along with every good thing that had made its way into the world and had not yet come into existence.

    Languid, Louis leaned over and pressed a feather-light kiss to Draco's forehead, right in the place where he had moved the wisp of hair. It was a soft, tender sort of thing, a comforting action one would give to a friend or loved one who was in need of reassurance. His mother had done it many times over whenever she had noticed that he was getting nervous over something, signaling to him that he had nothing to worry about.

    That was what he did to Draco—or at least what he thought he did. It didn't necessarily feel as though he were doing it to be friendly or reassuring. He had accepted the fact that he had developed a crush on the Slytherin, so for him to do something like this so far out of the blue was a big step. Whether it was in the right or wrong direction, he couldn't tell.

     There was another sharp intake of breath when Louis did it, surprise getting caught in the makings of Draco's throat at the action. He froze up and stiffened and Louis backed away instantly, apologizing profusely. When Draco was sure that Louis was done apologizing, he asked, voice splintering, soft, rasp, "What was that for?"

    "My mother did it a lot when I was younger," Louis began to explain, "she'd do it whenever I'd start to get nervous as a way to calm me down. I guess in some way I was doing the same thing to you, in a comforting manner of sorts. I've noticed that you've begun to look so out of it these past few weeks."

    At that, Draco could feel his face beginning to burn, overwhelmed with the steady stream of comfort he'd been given, helping to ease the weight of the world that was always so close to splitting his spine in two.

    Draco's grip around Louis tightened once more and Louis nodded, rubbing Draco's shoulder with his thumb. "I do have a question, though."

    "Hm?"

   "Do you have a suit jacket I can borrow?"

    Draco lifted his head off of Louis's shoulder, his eyebrows creasing in confusion. "What could you possibly need a suit jacket for?"

    "Slughorn invited me to his Christmas party tomorrow night and Luna wants to make sure I look presentable."

    "You're in the Slug Club?" The incredulity couldn't help but make its way out of Draco's mouth when he asked.

    "It's just a one-time thing so don't even bother trying to tease me for it."

    Draco rolled his eyes at the Ravenclaw's response. "We're not even the same size."

    Now it was Louis's turn for his eyebrows to crease. "I'm only two inches taller than you. Are you afraid that I'll look better in it?"

     "Yes, because all my pride lies within my vanity and ego, so for you to look better in something of mine would be shooting a bullet right through my self-esteem."

     Louis smiled brightly, the blue in his eyes somehow becoming bluer at the action. "So is that a yes?"

    Begrudgingly, while also fighting the urge to roll his eyes, Draco answered with a "Yes". It was hard for him to say no when he was looking at a face that would only makes its rounds once every ten thousand or so years. The last thing he'd ever want to see it do is crease in sorrow while old stars beaded up around Louis's eyes before they went to fall down his face, the sound of his heart shattering into the tiniest of pieces echoing throughout the confines of Draco's skull and continuing to haunt him for months to come.

𝐀𝐔𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐑'𝐒 𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄 .｡.:*

y'all trust me now ? 🤠 ( i ask as if that last paragraph didn't exist ) still a little on the angsty side but a little more
mutual pine-y than last chapter so. . .i'd take this as a win !

feel free to tell me what you thought !! what you liked, what confused you that i can help clear up, what made you want to throw your phone across the room, tell me all of it !!