Delicate {𝔻𝕣𝕒𝕣𝕣𝕪}

Chapter 7

Hey, guys, I'm actually so sorry I'm such a terrible person I haven't updated in so long! I came back to Wattpad after having left for ages to work on my school work during quarantine because we had so many exams and I saw all the reads and votes like omfg we have over 600 reads and I honestly would've been happy if like 2 people liked my book but 18 people voted!!! It honestly made my whole quarantine so much more bearable so I'll try to update more often now!

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About one week later Harry found himself wandering down the corridors in the early hours of the morning, unable to sleep yet again, despite his constant fatigue. Approaching the steps of the astronomy tower, he could hear muttering in the distance belonging to the grumpy caretaker, who never seemed to retire.

Harry shrugged on his invisibility cloak and continued his trek up the stairs. When he reached the top, Harry almost dropped his cloak in surprise. There, sitting by the railing was a familiar blonde Slytherin. Approaching slowly, Harry found the taller boy to be gazing out at the stars in the sky.

Harry shrugged off the cloak and moved to sit beside the blonde, who barely acknowledged his arrival. The two sat like this in silence for what seemed like an hour when it was really only a couple of minutes before the raven-haired boy shattered the tranquillity with a single word.

"Nightmares?" he questions quietly. Draco grunted in affirmation. Harry sighed quietly and shifted to face the young Malfoy. Draco eyed him warily, unsure of his intentions. "I'm going to assume that you, like me, aren't sleeping all that much recently." He didn't wait for a response.

"However I don't want to burden Ron and Hermione with this and you are already here so..." He paused while the blonde turned to face him. "How about if one of us wakes, we come here and if the other also wakes they can join, we can sit in silence or talk about it or even something random to distract ourselves. What do you say?"

Draco shifted and pondered the offer. Of course, the boy wanted more than to be considered a mutual insomniac, however, currently, he'd take what he could get. He also had the hope that this could help them grow closer and create some trust between the ex rivals. "Okay," he replied quietly, flashing a small but genuine smile to the boy beside him. Harry responded in kind and the two reverted to silence.

This agreement worked for the two of them for a week and a half only once or twice did one not show, however, the other was unfazed, if not slightly glad their new companion had gotten a full night's rest. Throughout this time the two got to talking. Most nights the silence was filled with idle chatter with no real meaning. However, some nights things became more personal such as questioning the future or just simple questions of what was happening in each other's lives.

The war was not a topic often discussed unless it came up in a nightmare and one of the boys needed to vent. During these times Harry started to realise that Draco was not the boy who made all the wrong choices, but in fact, the boy who never got a choice.

His eyes were very much opened in this time and he was beginning to appreciate the struggles that those who were unwillingly branded faced on the other side of the war. The blonde was also learning to understand the constant pressure his new friend faced with the weight of being the saviour constantly on his shoulders.

Throughout these nights both boys' opinions and perspectives changed. They gradually became closer and started to laugh with each other as one made jokes to lighten the sombre atmosphere. Draco remained conscious of Harry's problem and would occasionally brush off his arm to see if he'd flinch.

As the weeks progressed the harsh reactions became less common and less extreme.

One such night, as Harry cracked a very corny joke along the lines of the Draco constellation and a fish, Draco let slip one word that shifted the atmosphere suddenly. "Shut up Harry," He said as he rolled his eyes. His eyes then widened drastically when Draco realised what he had just said.

Harry, however shocked about what had come out of the older boy's mouth, realised that in his head he had begun to see the boy as Draco, not the prissy, pretentious asshole that was the young Malfoy in their previous years. He saw them as different people now.

So, eager to continue their fun conversation, Harry eased Draco's fried nerves with a simple "You know you love my humour Draco" And with one simple sentence, and zero acknowledgement of the change, the two returned to their banter.

On the night of Halloween, Harry knew he wouldn't be getting any sleep. When he was younger Harry was able to distract himself from the thoughts of his parents' deaths. Now, however, with the grief of those lost during the war weighing down on him, Halloween was much harder to face.

On the night in question, Harry went straight to the astronomy tower, silently desperate that he would be joined by Draco. Unbeknownst to him, Draco had the same thought. Thinking about how Harry would be struggling on this day, he began his trek to the astronomy tower.

That was where Draco found the brunette, silent tears streaming down his face as his shoulders shook minutely. Draco sat down beside him and hesitantly wrapped an arm around the distraught boy he had come to call his friend.

Harry immediately leaned into Draco's embrace, surprisingly unembarrassed by the action due to each of them seeing the other break down before. They remained like this in silence for the entire night, with the blonde gently carding his fingers through the boy's raven curls.

Draco continued to console him, whispering quiet words of affirmation to the sobbing boy, placing the occasional gentle kiss to the crown of his head.

Harry couldn't have asked for someone so understanding to be with him on that night. Draco forgot about his troubles momentarily, simply enjoying the peaceful atmosphere surrounding the two after Harry calmed down.

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Another chapter done :D go me!

1063 words

Lila out 💜