astoria smiles at his areful reply, and starts to expin. “i mearying to help him. we’ve kher sine hildhood, you see. our mothers visited eah other a lot. narissa told me eo him in…” here, she frowns, looking down at her hands sped in froh a sad look ourns bak to harry. “she asked me to help, but tely, it’s beeihink. and i ahere for him all the time. espeially during sses.”
harry realls that astoria’s in sixth year.
it’s makihe of time that she and drao have beeogether. there’s a part of him that’s hurt, somehow, that narissa hadn’t asked him, whih he desperately tries to squash down, beause of ourse he wouldn’t have beeo help even if narissa had. even though he and drao are ihey are still i houses with different ss shedules, and it’s hey aogether or speer urfew together.
and he is supposed to be happy that drao has other people to talk to and wath over him. he is. he’s also just a bit…jealous.
&he middle of the meadow now, ahouse ahe horizon. clouds litter the sky, floatih the wind. sunlight filters through gaps betweehihing in a magial slow, like a dream.
& astoria, at her big, grey eyes, her lohe way her hair urls against her high heekbo for the first time, he thinks, wow, she’s pretty.
astoria stops abruptly, turns to him, and says, “but he told me about what you did for him.”
harry srunhes his eyebrows in onfusion. “what i did?”
astoria nods. “how you tried to help him bak in the summer.” pink dusts her heeks, and she shakes her head. “i’m sorry, we weren’t gossiping —”
harry is quik to assure her. “oh, no, i didn’t think that.”
again, astoria visibly rexes. harry wo how nervous she was bef up to him.
&ually didn’t want to tell me anything at first. i was the one who i helps, you see. he likes talking about you.” here, she smiles at him, but it looks sad.
&ares at her, u to make of her words and her expression.
“it keeps him awake. i mean. awake awake.”
“i…don’t uand what y at, astoria.”
“help him. please.”
a liks. why astoria’s sad smile looks so familiar.
he’s seen it on himself.
&s out, “you like malfoy, don’t you?”
as soon as the words are out, he immediately regrets it, beause it’s inappropriate, iive, and hermione and gih going to kill him when they find out.
but astoria just ughs at his obvious horror, and though her heeks are flushed with embarrassment, the sadness o that obvious?” she lets out a few more hukles, uo help herself. “but it’s okay. i know he already likes somebody else.”
this time, harry maop the “who?” from slipping past his lips. he thinks the shok of the pain at knowing that drao likes somebody else helped. he doesn’t even know why it still hurts, beause up until a minute ago, he had thought that that somebody else was astoria—
astoria who has and is looking at him as if she’s trying to figure something out.
“you’re nie, harry. i ared for you not wanting to talk to me.”
harry frowns at her. “why would i do that?” he asks inredulously, but he already knows why.
“beause i’m a slytherin.”
“you did n,” he says firmly. he thinks of drao, narissa, and severus sherins are some of the bravest people i know.”
finally, she smiles again, real ahat reahes her eyes. “you’re nie,” she says ohink i uand drao a bit more now.”
that night, when dinen as have returive dorm res through his trunk for the map and the invisibility cloak.
ron throws something at his head.
“hey!” harry exims, grihe offe and is surprised to see that it’s a h, sitting still ay is shiny box.
ron throws something at him again.
fast seeker reflexes have him athing it with ease, aares at it i’s ae frog.
ron looks away, ears red and mutteriher oo malfoy. merlin knows he uhose robes of his.”
harry beams at him.
drao jumps and stands up from his bed wheers, and harry remembers that ht, he’s iakes off the loak, and smiles sheepishly iing.
drao stares at him dumbly. “i thought yoing to ome.”
harry dumps his loak oher bed, ahrough his robe pokets. “you told me to ome.”