My face was buried deep inside one of the books Wren had left me. My eyes scanning page after page for the past few hours.

It was barely eight, but the common room was completely empty, and I was slowly growing bored of the book in my hands.

I sighed loudly, placing it on the small table in between the two couches, and stretched. A groan escaped my lips, my arms up in the air in an attempt to wake my body up.

After hours of sitting, maybe a little walk was just what I needed. I didn't move much apart from the short distance to the Great Hall and back three times a day.

I left the book behind, knowing nobody was going to touch it, anyway, and went on my way; I wasn't quite sure where to.

The halls were quiet, radiating a sort of peace when they weren't crowded with groups of students trying to find their way around; The only sound my footsteps against the cold stone.

My legs were moving pretty much on their own. I didn't waste a drop of energy on deciding or figuring out where I was going, and it felt rather therapeutic.

The only light illuminating the long corridors were the dim candles placed on the walls; they'd turn off once it hit curfew all on their own, but for now, they offered a glimpse of what was around me.

A slight smile found itself on my lips when I recognised the staircase climbing up to the top of the astronomy tower. The memories of countless nights Draco and I had spent up there making me sigh in contentment.

I almost walked past it, but there was something within me that wanted to go up. Maybe my longing for simpler times, like they were back then, dragged me all the way up here.

Maybe I just wanted to feel like everything was normal for an hour or two. Forget that my godfather died. Forget about the conversation between Snape and Draco. Forget about Draco.

I opened the heavy, wooden door, looking forward to doing just that. But, of course, it was never that simple.

"Draco?" My brows furrowed when I recognised the boy. He was standing close to the edge of the tower, his arms propped on the parapet, and his hair moving with the wind.

His body immediately tensed up when he heard my voice, and the blonde turned around to face me. "Y/n," He said, his voice cold and his lips forming a straight line. "What are you doing here?"

The way he reacted irritated me.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I must've missed the memo where they announced this area of the castle was yours now, Malfoy," I seethed through gritted teeth, making sure not to break our eye contact.

He quirked an eyebrow at that, tilting his head in an almost amused manner.

"Back on last name basis, are we, Potter?" He asked, the amusement prominent in his voice now.

I scoffed, and his body visibly relaxed at the sound. "The last time we talked this little we were," I stated, finally stepping completely through the doorway, and closing the door behind me.

He huffed, the amusement still lingering in his voice as he stepped towards me. And for the first time in a very long time, as the corners of his mouth curled up, I saw a smirk on his face.

The sight made my stomach drop, and I wasn't quite sure whether it was because of how rare they were these days, or because I simply remembered how attractive it made him look.

"Aw, what's that? You miss me?" He teased as he stopped in his tracks right in front of me.

"You wish."

He buried his hands in the pockets of his suit, his eyes dragging away from my own and instead roaming our surroundings carefully. I watched his every move, noticing the way he swallowed thickly, and how his tongue pocked the inside of his cheek before licking over his lips quickly.

"It's been a while since we've both been up here, huh?" He said quietly, his eyes still wandering the tower and avoiding me.

"Please don't act like that." My voice was stern enough to make his gaze snap into my direction, his brows furrowing in confusion at my words. There was a hint of desperation in my voice.

"Like what?"

"Like everything is normal, Draco," I scoffed, shaking my head slowly. "We haven't spoken in weeks, maybe even months? Don't just act like that's normal."

He took a deep breath, his hand ruffling through his hair before he turned around abruptly. He was shaking his head just like I had, throwing a glance over his shoulder to look at me once.

"I'm not going to apologise for that, because I'm not-" He cleared his throat. "-I'm not sorry about it." His back was still facing me when the words left his mouth, and I rolled my eyes at them.

"Great," I laughed dryly, shoving past him; My shoulder hitting his on purpose. I sat down at the edge of the tower; my feet dangling off the edge of it. "Of course you're not. You're Draco fucking Malfoy. You're not sorry for anything."

"Oh, please," He hissed, sarcasm lacing his voice while he raised it. "You're acting like you haven't already replaced whatever there was between us with fucking Blaise, of all people!" He yelled.

I groaned, annoyed. "Replaced you with Blaise? Merlin, don't be fucking ridiculous, Draco!" As the words left my mouth, I turned to face him.

I looked up at him to be faced with a glare so deathly, an expression so angry; His whole body was tense, his teeth gritted and his brows as furrowed as they could be. "Even if I did, don't pretend you'd even care about it. You're the one who pushed-" I continued, my voice growing louder before he interrupted me.

"I can't take your shit right now, Y/n!" He snapped, his breath shallow before taking a deep breath to calm himself down.

My body stiffened at the way my name sounded out of his mouth when he spat it so angrily, and I shifted uncomfortably at the silence that followed his words. The only sound were his footsteps as he audibly paced back and forth behind me for a while.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him taking a seat next to me, his long legs hanging off the edge just like mine were. He wasn't looking at me, his eyes looking straight ahead of him.

"The only reason I'm doing this is because I do care," He sighed. "I wish I didn't, honestly," He laughed, dryly, and I turned my head to look at him. Though, his attention was still on the night sky in front of us. "I'm doing this for you."

At that, his eyes landed on me, desperately searching for a sign I understood what he was talking about.

"Really? I don't remember asking for this," I questioned sarcastically, my brows raised while I tried to ignore the way my pulse picked up at his words.

"You can't ask for something when you don't even know it's happening, Y/n." His voice was quiet, and my facial features softened at the sound. I so desperately wanted to understand what he was talking about.

"And what might that be?" I asked in a soft whisper, feeling like if I'd speak any louder, I might scare him away.

He seemed so vulnerable, so exhausted; so not like Draco Malfoy usually seemed.

He scoffed, an eyebrow quirked as he shook his head. "You know none of this would be happening if I could tell you."

A/N: 

thank you so much for 4 million reads ???? ily