The castle was silent, except for the soft lulls of students breathing. All was calm. All was quiet. No one was awake.
Or so it seemed.
Harry Potter lay in the dark of the Gryffindor dormitories, listening to the calming sounds of his roommates sleeping. It let him know he was safe, calming his racing heart, but tonight’s nightmare was still fresh in his mind. It had woken him in a panic drenched in sweat, expecting to see the dark lord towering over him. His wand raised, ready to strike. But he never was there. He was already long gone.
Harry swung his feet over the edge of his bed, pressing his feet to the cool wood. He knew he wouldn’t be able to get back to sleep. If he tried the nightmares would come back. They would swirl around his mind and make him feel suffocated. He needed to get out. To occupy his mind with something else. His bed creaked gently as he pushed himself off the side. His feet padding across the floor and towards the door, as he left to explore the castle.
The castle was always so different at night. Almost serene. No matter how many times he had wandered through its halls, the feeling of it at night had always caught him off guard. Moonlight flooded through the tall windows, illuminating the rough stone floors with silver light. It looked almost anomalous. Like a dream. The only thing that reassured him that he was not dreaming, was the sharp chill in the air.
Harry shivered, puffing out clouds of cold air as he made his way down the dark corridors, finally arriving in front of a pair of large oak doors. He pushed one open quietly, slipping through the crack before, closing it behind him. Harry turned around and leaned against the door. In front of him stretched rows and rows of bookshelves, arranged almost like a maze.
He let out a sigh of relief. He always found the library relaxing at night. It was so different from the confining feeling it had during the day. At night it felt safe. Secure. Like being surrounded by an impenetrable fort.
He made his way past the towering bookshelves, going deeper and deeper into the library, sliding his fingers across the spines of the books as he went.
On nights he couldn’t sleep, he would wander around the library until he found a little nook where he could nestle into and feel separate from the world, where he could get lost in other worlds that surrounded him in paper.
He was different from Hermione. Hermione liked to read for knowledge, for knowledge was power. He, on the other hand, read to get away.
Harry’s eyes searched the book titles, squinting in the darkness as he tried to make out their names until something caught his attention. Not a book, but a light. Or more specifically, lights.
Through the gaps in the shelves, he could see a light shimmer of lights floating around, creating flickering shadows, like candlelight.
He peered around the shelf to get a better look, inching closer and closer, until the lights came to full view.
The little golden lights danced around peacefully, like hundreds of little fireflies on a warm summer's night. Amongst the golden hue of light, sat a figure, back up against the shelves. Their eyes lost faraway as they watched the fireflies, the light dancing on their pale skin, igniting their blond hair into pale gold flames.
Harry must have brushed up against the shelf, for a book tumbled off and thumped dully on the ground, causing both of them to jump.
He looked up, his eyes locking with dull grey ones. He didn’t know what to expect. Maybe disgust, hatred or anger.. But there’s nothing. Just exhaustion and sadness.
“Oh, it’s just you potter.” Malfoy finally spoke, his voice barely a whisper.
“Sorry... I didn’t mean to scare you.” Harry replied softly. Malfoy looked away and they fell back into silence. Harry looked around, licking his lips nervously before speaking again. “What are you doing here?”
There was a pause before Malfoy replied. “...couldn’t sleep. And you?” He looked up at Harry expectantly.
“I couldn’t either.” He replied, pausing for a second before continuing. “May...may I sit down?”
Malfoy didn’t reply, he just gave a nod before looking away again.
Harry stood there awkwardly for a second before he moved a pile of books aside, sitting down next to Malfoy. He leaned back against the bookshelf and stretched his legs out.
It was weird seeing Malfoy so quiet. He had been like that ever since they returned to finish their seventh year. Just sitting in the corner, keeping to himself. They had bumped into each other occasionally. Literally. He had even accidentally made Malfoy drop all of his books, but instead of haughtily sneering at Harry, Draco had just simply apologised to him, before gathering his books and leaving. It was a shock, to say the least. And now they were sitting beside each other in silence with some mutually shared peace, watching as the little fireflies floated around them.
Harry peered sideways at Draco. Up close he could see the bags under his eyes from the lack of sleep. Red rimming them as if he had been crying. He breathed a small sigh before looking back at the floating lights.
After what seemed like hours, Draco finally spoke, breaking the silence. “You know… I never hated you.”
Harry glanced at him in surprise.
“You didn't?”
Draco gave a small bitter laugh. “I was taught to hate you. To despise everything you lived for, and I hated how the wizarding world perceived you as. The brave mighty hero who was worshipped for something that happened to you as a baby. But not you, never you.” Draco looked up, their eyes locking. “You were nothing like what my father said you'd be. Nothing like the image the wizarding had shoved onto me. You were so much more. I just had too much pride to admit it.” He breathed, his eyes staring at Harry’s face searchingly, the golden hue sparkling in his eyes.
Harry blinked in shock, his mouth trying to form words.
“I Uhm… Wow.” He laughed awkwardly.
“What?” Draco pouted indignantly.
“Nothing, nothing. It's just..” He chuckled, dipping his head as he smiled. “After years of you staring at me like a cat that's been dumped in a bath, I guess it's just amusing seeing you be nice, let alone complimenting me.”
Draco let out a huff. “If you’re just going to mock me then It doesn’t matter.” He said, looking away, the tension in the air reforming.
“Ah wait no... I didn’t mean... I’m sorry. That’s not what I was trying to do.” Harry groaned in frustration. “What I meant was… It’s nice.” Harry continued, “I’m not used to being seen as anything but the boy who lived.”
Draco looked over at him curiously, all tension forgot. “What about Granger, or Weasel? I mean Weasley.” He corrected himself with a snigger as Harry glared half-heartedly at him.
Harry signed and looked away. “Ron…” He began, reaching out towards a nearby firefly, trying to find the right words. It gently hovered around his fingers, before floating away as he lowered his hand. “...he’s never seen me as anything but the chosen one… and I think it makes him jealous. Hermione…I mean, she’s different, but... ergg… I don’t know, It’s hard to explain.” He huffed, kicking over a stack of books in frustration. They fell to the floor with a loud thud that echoed around the expanse of the library. Harry looked around sheepishly, both of the boys silently listening in case someone had heard them, but no sounds of anyone but them could be heard as the echo dulled into nothing. They let out a breath of relief, Draco snorting out a quiet chuckle.
“Hey! Shuddup.” Harry grumbled, elbowing him lightly, trying to hide a small smile from escaping.
“Okay, okay.” Draco sniggered louder, “Sorry.” He coughed, failing to clear the smirk off his face. Draco leaned back against the bookshelf, eyes following the soft glow, a small smile still on his face.
After a few seconds of silence, Harry did the same, watching while the lights floated softly by, occasionally dimming and blinking out, before being replaced by another. There was something calming, almost homely about the lights as if the warm glow of the fireflies was seeping into you.
“You’ll have to teach me this spell one day.” Harry murmured.
Draco made a small noise of agreement, “Next time?” He asked softly, glancing slightly at Harry.
Harry smiled in agreement. “Yeah,” He whispered, “next time.”
They continued to watch the lights, the silence of the castle only broken by their soft breaths.