
Chapter 8
I would trade *anything* to have him look at me the way he used to.
With challenge, with fire, with that sharp-tongued bite that had always been meant *for me.*
But Draco Malfoy had long since stopped looking at me.
Now, his silver eyes only softened for *Charlie Weasley.*
And I *hated it.*
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The ballroom was filled with laughter and light, the war now a fading scar in the minds of those lucky enough to move on. I wasn’t one of them.
Not when *he* was here.
Not when he stood beside *him.*
Draco had always been beautiful, but now—*now* he was something ethereal. The proud swell of his stomach, the way his body curved protectively over the life inside him—it should have looked unnatural, impossible. But on *him*, it was breathtaking.
He was breathtaking.
And he wasn’t *mine.*
“Harry.”
I startled at the sound of my name, tearing my gaze away. Hermione frowned at me, voice carefully neutral. “You’re staring.”
I swallowed, forcing a tight smile. “Just surprised to see him.”
Her lips pressed together like she didn’t believe me. “He’s happy, you know.”
I *knew.*
I had seen it—seen the way Draco glowed under Charlie’s touch, seen the effortless love between them.
I had seen *everything.*
And yet—
I would trade *anything* to have him look at *me* that way.
Just once more.