Scutum, 'shield' in Latin, was named to honour the victory of Polish king Jan III Sobieski in the Battle of Vienna in 1683. Its four brightest stars form a diamond shape. In Chinese astronomy, it is also associated with battle armour.

─── · 。ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

🖤

The door opened, and he turned.

He took her image in for a moment, then muttered her name under his breath. They crashed into each other, his arms wrapping around her like she would slip out of his grasp. He pushed her hair from her face, held her cheeks, then hugged her again.

"I really thought... fuck... I thought I'd never see you again..." He kissed her lips hard in between his words, inhaling her scent. Florals - crystalline and homely. She threaded her fingers through his hair and closed her eyes. "I've missed you so much."

Her dark hair still hung in heavy waves, brown eyes shining like earth after the rain. Her breath was soft against his face, and her hands were like ice packs on a fevered forehead. She hadn't changed, and he told her so. She laughed, the sound tinkling around the enclosed space.

Looking around, she saw that the room was bare of any furnishings. Only a small chest of drawers stood by the wall, a bed, and a small table beside. "How did you-"

"Madam Puddifoot," he breathed, mind still whirling in exhilaration. "She remembered me from that one time I bought you the strudel. She agreed to help me. We arranged everything together secretly."

"Merlin bless her!" cried Angel, her smile larger than he had ever seen.

"I can't stay, though. It's just for tonight," he added regretfully, but she shook her head. "It's better than nothing."

The bed frame creaked as they lay down and shared their warmth. He told her about life back at the manor, how they were looking for Harry and his friends, that he looked for her in the stars every night. Then he listened as she told him about Hogwarts, how Defence Against the Dark Arts was no more, what Dumbledore's Army had been doing.

"Did they... did they talk about you? About us?" he asked. She bit her lip. "Yes. They look at me different now. Even some of the professors."

"You tried to protect Dumbledore." From me, he wanted to add.

"They don't know that," she replied quietly. "Only the DA."

"And you still came."

"Of course." I would come to you, wherever you are. She hadn't needed to say it. He knew, and he could only feel guilt.

She turned to him, smiling in the darkness. "It doesn't matter, Draco, really. I'm here with you now, aren't I?"

He kissed her again. She touched his lips when they parted, her fingers tracing down the tendons of his throat, lingering on his collarbone. It burned like fire and ice. "I'm sorry." He always felt inclined to say it to her.

"I'm not going anywhere," she affirmed, bringing him both frustration and relief. "Draco, you'll come back to me, right? You know, after..."

"It's going to be different. If he wins."

"And if he doesn't?"

She was so naive. Draco did not say anything to that, and she propped herself up on her elbows. "Either way, we'll run away, you and I."

"I can't," he sighed, holding up his left wrist. "This, remember? This is how he keeps track of all of us. It's how he finds us."

The light dimmed in her eyes as she understood, dropping back onto the pillow defeatedly. "I'm sorry," he said again.

"Stop saying that. Let's stop saying things, just for a while."

He sighed and pulled her close to him. The few hours they had were not enough to make up for weeks apart.

They fell silent, and under the covers, on a creaky bed in a room above the strangest tea shop, they drifted off to sleep in each other's arms.

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

🤍

"Wake up, lovebirds!"

A loud bang jolted her from her slumber. It had been one of the best sleeps she had in weeks. Had last night been a dream? Draco stirred beside her, his black jumper ruched with sleep. She smiled to herself before looking up through heavy lids.

Hannah stood at the door, blue eyes flaring. Her ponytail hung low and loose on the nape of her neck, her clothes in disarray like she had just been in a hurricane.

She barged in and violently threw the covers off the couple. Draco groaned, covering his eyes with an arm.

"Angel, for fuck's sake. It's already morning!" Hannah was hysterical. "School still exists, in case you've forgotten!"

With a start, she remembered where she was. "What time is it?"

"Seven bloody AM, that's what time it is! Come on! Suze is already waiting!" Hannah thundered back out the room and down the stairs.

"Is she such a bitch all the time?" groaned Draco, flopping his arms over his eyes.

"Draco..." Her voice was warning as she put on her coat. He hadn't moved, but she felt him peeking at her from under his arm, and she smiled in his direction. "They did wait the entire night for us."

Lazily, he got up too. "I don't want to say goodbye." She paused, soaking up his words. "When will I see you again?"

"I don't know."

They had to be separated once more. The air became very still as they were suddenly made aware of this fact. She fished into her coat pocket and pushed something into his hands.

"But I wanted you to have it," he said in confusion, looking at the silver Hippogriff.

"Give it to me when you come back."

His eyes were a brewing thunderstorm, searching her face for answers to unasked questions. Hannah called again from downstairs, and he grabbed her for one final hug.

"I love you."

"And I love you, Draco."

Taking her hands out of his felt like tearing off her own limbs. "I have to go." She felt his eyes boring into her back as she headed back down the stairs.

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

"Did you really wait up all night?" she shouted, her voice almost drowned out by the roaring wind as they sprinted across the grass.

"You think?" Hannah grinned, leaping nimbly over the puddles and mud.

"Spent hours with an old woman while you got to cuddle with that Slytherin devil!" cried Susan, and the three girls laughed.

The Quidditch pitch passed by in a blur. They flew past the courtyards and hallways, down the steps to the kitchen, and back to the Hufflepuff common room.

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

A/N:

I'm so happy I got the chance to write more about Hannah and Susan here. Not sure if my friends would wait for me in a strange shop with a random old lady while I hung out with my boyfriend HAHAHA.

Unfortunately things will start to go a little downhill for Draco and Angel from here on out ):

Thank you so much for staying with me till now, reader! Leave a comment or vote and let me know what you think!