Whispers Beneath the Stars

by cozy_kindle

Summary:

In their fifth year at Hogwarts, Harry Potter, the boy who lived, and Draco Malfoy, the Malfoy heir, have been drawing closer...closer than most would assume......

Chapter 1: Prologue

It all began on the train, or at least, that’s how they began to tell their story. The real one. You know, blah blah blah, that’s how your mother met your father (kidding, they’re gay boys. duh.). Heads up-- this is written in 3rd person limited, so there are POVs from both Draco and Harry !! With that being said, feel free to step into this cozy (maybe) story, grab a blanket, some snacks (obviously), tea (or coffee, as some of my reader friends like to absolutely HOUSE), and enjoy! <3

Notes:

sooooo how is it so far (it's only the prologue, i know) :) side note- i will try to have a deadline of posting a chapter every week or every other week, but i may post more if i come across a moment of motivation (from my friends most likely) !! each chapter i'm aiming for 1k-2k words, but that may change as i get used to writing !!

p.s. all of my chapter titles are songs by conan gray !

p.p.s. thank you to my beta editor/best friend --> bailey :D

Chapter 2: The Story - Harry's POV

Summary:

We meet some of the characters as they ride the train to their fifth year at Hogwarts...will anything happen?

—

When Harry walked onto the Hogwarts Express, his eyes were immediately drawn to the blonde visible through the window of a carriage to his left. Draco. Draco Malfoy. Esteemed heir to the Malfoy name, and consequently perceived as the largest arsehole in the school. He was perfectly poised, legs crossed, and sitting in a compartment with his “friends”, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle. Each of them were a part of Slytherin, but only Crabbe and Goyle truly dislike Harry and his friends, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, who are all a part of the Gryffindor House.

Hermione rolls her eyes in Draco’s direction, obviously comparing his perfect posture and alert eyes to the others on the train who were slumped and asleep.

“Ugh, of course he’s here, and looking smug nonetheless,” She says to Harry and Ron, who are in the compartment two cabins down from Malfoy.

“Hermione, that’s not nice, he’s just sitting there, it’s not like he’s bothering us,” Harry says quietly, still new to him and Draco’s new "acquaintanceship”. Since the middle of fourth year, Harry and Draco have been slowly warming up to each other, and it was a huge thing at Hogwarts.

Due to them being from different houses and having been enemies since first year, it was the biggest surprise of last school year when the sharp comments and sarcastic tones they exchanged turned into peaceful understanding.

“Of course you would say that, Harry,” Ron says in a slightly cold tone. He never really got onto the idea of Draco not being the arrogant or even frigid persona they all thought he was. Never really saw him as a gentle and misunderstood person like Harry would often describe him.

“He’s not as bad as you all think he is,” They briskly place their larger belongings in the overhead bins of the compartment and settle into the plush seats. “Let’s just not talk about this anymore, okay,?”

Ron begrudgingly nods, and Hermione just pulls out her book and relaxes into the booth she’s sharing with the ginger. Harry lets out a soft sigh of relief that they dropped the topic, and he looks over to spare one glance at Draco, but quickly looks away when he realizes Draco saw him. After his cheeks flush from embarrassment, Harry decides to just look out of the window and wait until the rest of the students board the train.

—

Around 30 minutes into the journey, Hermione and Ron were talking amongst themselves quietly while Harry was listening to the soft sounds of students on the train. Harry feels a bit restless, so he gently gets up, leaves the two to their conversation, and closes the door to the compartment as he steps out. Eyes from other cabins flicker over to Harry, but he just ignores them and heads to the bathroom near the back of the train.

As he comes back out, Harry hears faint steps heading his way, and looks up to come face to face with Draco.

“Oh, hi Draco,” Harry says brightly, some energy entering back into his tired voice upon seeing him.

“Hey, Harry. Good trip so far?” Draco’s light grey eyes appear interested to hear his response, and there’s a hint of challenge in that look, as if to threaten existence itself if Harry was having a bad day.

“Yes,” he spoke airily, his eyes sparkled with the fact Draco actually cares about his well-being. “I’ve been listening in on people’s conversations, and it’s quite amusing.”

“Ah yes, me too, but Crabbe and Goyle don’t have anything interesting to spew out of their annoying little mouths,” A hint of Draco’s usual unpleasant tone comes out in his words, but there’s a hint of softness behind it; reserved only for him.

Harry, motivated by Draco’s words, was starting to chat excitedly, but before he was able to continue, Astoria Greengrass, a female Slytherin in their year, headed over.

As she walks up to them, he hides a scowl and instead smiles politely.

“Oh, Astoria, did you need something?” Harry gets straight to the point, since he wanted to get over with this conversation quickly due to the fact that he was in the middle of catching up with Draco.

She scoffs coldly but bats her eyelashes at Draco as she says in her posh British accent, “Um…no, I was just coming to say hi to Draco here! He looked SO bored just standing here talking to…you,” Astoria accentuates the word you, clearly insinuating Harry isn’t good enough to be conversing with someone like Draco.

“Astoria, you’re being a brat to Potter. I was talking to him, not you, and frankly, he’s a better companion than you are,” Draco steps in, having not liked her tone towards Harry at all.

She rolls her eyes but keeps her fake sweet demeanor, “Oh but Draccie don’t be so rude,” She purrs, reaching for his arm.

Harry watched quietly…he didn’t want to speak up, but the way Astoria reached to touch Draco without his consent made him wish he was more confrontational. But before Harry said something to her, Draco’s eyes darken with irritation as the nickname came specifically from her mouth, but he doesn’t lash out and instead takes a deep breath, which showcased Harry’s effect on Draco’s personality.

Ever since Harry slipped into Draco’s life the year prior, students around Hogwarts campus noticed the change in Draco’s behaviour; how he is slightly more soft around the edges, and doesn’t snap at people for no reason anymore.

 

“Harry, let’s just go,” Despite Draco’s annoyance, Harry can hear the slight gentleness in his voice as he speaks directly to him, but there’s also a glimmer of affection in his expression that Harry doesn’t catch.

He nods, and they ignore Astoria as they head back to their respective cabins.

Before entering his, Draco looked over to Harry and said with a regretful tone, “I’m sorry she interrupted us, I didn’t notice her coming over,” Harry smiled lightly and said,

“It’s not a big deal, we can just meet up and talk more later! See you at the Ravenclaw libraries after dinner?” He asks hopefully, wanting to spend more time with Draco.

“Of course, I’ll catch up with you there,” Draco commented and then gracefully went inside his compartment just as Harry walked the few steps to his own.

—

“Harry, mate, where have you been?” Ron asked, confusedly looking at Harry who was apparently gone for more than 10 minutes.

“Oh, just the restroom, nothing serious,” Harry said as he sat back down in the seat and pulled out an astronomy book. Him and Draco have been fixated on space ever since last year, and they would often make trips to the Astronomy Tower to look at the stars alongside each other.

Hermione, ever the observant one, peered her eyes over the novel she was reading and saw the book he was holding gently in his lap. Her eyes squint a bit, and then proceed to widen with realization as she sees Draco’s name on the back of it, signifying it is his own that he lended to Harry.

“Is that…Draco’s astronomy book?” She asks hesitantly, not wanting to overstep.

He glances down at the book and sighs softly before saying, “Yeah, it is. He let me borrow it since I like reading about the galaxies and constellations so much.”

Ron and Hermione exchange glances, and his eyes flicker to both of their faces confused as to what the look meant.
He decides to let it go and instead continues to read as the train progresses to Hogwarts.

—

Notes:

hiiii!! how was it??? this is actually my first ever time writing a fanfic, so lmk <333

a big thank you to my beta editor/reader/best friend bailey, ilysmmm!!!!!

there's hints of Draco and Harry's fourth year (the school year prior to this fic) but nothing really romantic happened that year...but i may do a prequel to this fic in the future!

thanks for reading :D

Chapter 3: Fight or Flight - Draco's POV

Summary:

:0

—

Fuck.

That’s the first thing Draco thought when he saw Harry for the first time on the train. Of course, he was seated with Crabbe and Goyle, but he was barely paying attention to them anyway; they were irrelevant. Draco was curled up in the corner of the booth, facing his “friends”, and trying not to stare at the boy in the compartment in front of him.

He could hear inklings of Harry’s and his friends’ conversation, and was rosy with delight when he realised Harry was slightly defending him against them. Of course Hermione and Ron still don’t like Draco, but at least he had Harry. Yeah, he had Harry.

That was kind of Draco’s mantra nowadays, since no one understood him anymore; no one really understood what was going on between Harry and Draco, not even them themselves. Even though most were rumours, they truly had gotten closer near the middle of the previous year (fourth year). They took trips to the kitchen to make plates of cookies, sat in comfortable silence during library study sessions, and even just simply walked together to class every day.

Draco was surprised when this started, but he kind of knew it was because Harry needed someone. Someone real. Someone who didn’t just enjoy being with him because he was the “chosen one”. Granted, he hung out and was best friends with Hermione and Ron (a little too much if Draco had a say (he never said anything)) but it was the quiet understanding between the two boys that brought them together.

After he had sat for a small period of time and sipped his usual green tea, the boy with fluffy brown hair that Draco knew all too well got up, so naturally, he did too.

They catch up a bit, and the stress from staying at Malfoy Manor alone with his parents melts away as he listens to Harry’s comforting words pour out from his heart and into the air, blessing Draco with his presence. It gets slightly disturbed by Astoria, but they manage to get away from her toxic aura and outside of their cabins, he gently accepted Harry’s proposal to meet after dinnertime in the Great Hall. Of course that is a couple hours from then since they were still on the train, but he is grateful for any interaction he can get.

—

Draco was shaken awake by Crabbe, and disorientedly blinked his light eyes open as he got accustomed to his surroundings.

“Mate, we’re here,” Goyle said flatly as he took down their belongings from the overhead storage area.

Draco yawned and nodded as he smoothly packed up his items and swiftly left them both behind.

He moved briskly through the corridor of the train and toward the exit, where the Golden Trio and other students waited for the carriages so they could start another year fresh at the whimsical school where most of their key memories were made.

Harry turned briefly and locked eyes with him for barely a millisecond, but it made Draco’s heart falter and beat just that much faster.

He looks down and clutches his dark mahogany bag (with his books in it), a present he received from Harry over the summer, since his birthday was June 5th. This was a significant part of this year for Draco, since his parents were the only ones who have ever given him a gift before…and of course the person to change that was Harry.

Everyone’s eyes followed his movements, used to seeing Malfoy with stick straight posture and perfectly maintained suitcases, and are left surprised when they see the blatantly obvious Harry-coded bag.

“Draco, is that your satchel?” Luna Lovegood asked in her dreamy tone as he passed her on his way to the Slytherin carriages- she was seen as eclectic amongst most.

He glanced over, remembered Harry’s quiet reprimanding whenever Draco would accidentally snap at others, and decided to say, “Oh yes, it is, why?”

“It’s quite lovely, it just doesn’t quite look like something you would wear,” Luna said in a good natured way, but Draco’s mind went to a different context.

In his head, thoughts were whirling; if Luna doesn’t think this bag “fits” with him, then what would people think if he and Harry actually got together. It’s not as if they would necessarily, because while he liked him, Harry had only ever shown him friendliness…besides: Draco could deal with that. Yeah, sure he could.

Luna noticed how Draco’s expression had changed, and how he retreated back into himself, so she quietly stepped away and he continued his walk to the Slytherin carriages where Crabbe and Goyle already stood.

“Finally, we’ve been here for ages, Malfoy,” Crabbe said in a nasty way, and Draco is taken aback by the stark difference in how his supposed companions talked to him compared to how Harry did.

“They haven’t started moving yet, it’s fine,” He said in return, still compressing the old demeanor he used to have.

Crabbe and Goyle exchange glances, accustomed to the rude Draco, not this “imposter”, but they let it go…for now.

—

Once all students arrived at Hogwarts, the first years immediately were taken to the Great Hall to get indoctrinated into their respective houses. The fifth years went straight to their old dormitories, so he had not seen Harry since their brief interaction on the Express.

He sighed softly and changed into black sweatpants and a dark forest green cable-knitted sweater to be comfortable and unpacked his suitcases. There was a gentle knock, 2 short and 1 long, and Draco immediately recognized it as Harry’s signature knock and he smiled airily.

He put his clothes down from where he was folding them and opens the door with a smile he reserved only for Harry.

“Yes, Potter?” At these words, Harry grins and launches himself at Draco, who catches him with an umph.

They embrace and pull away with smiles that people only share when they’re completely comfortable with the other.

“I just came to walk with you to dinner,” Harry explained casually, as if this was a normal occurrence, which he guessed it was.

“Oh okay,” He hid the light flush that crept up his pale neck, “Let’s go.”

They left his dorm room, and Harry looked his outfit up and down, appreciating the comfy look Draco doesn’t wear often. They’ve discussed this before, went through emotions he kept to himself, how the Slytherin house robes were just a way to hide from others behind an icy shield, and he amended his wardrobe, allowing Harry to pick out some normal clothes for mealtimes and studying alongside one another. This was not left unnoticed last year; many students alike observed how Draco would only wear these sweaters and various comfortable attire with Harry, and kept up the immaculate reputation of a Malfoy every other occasion.

They walked in comfortable silence occasionally speaking to each other, telling inside jokes only they would know. When they reached the Great Hall, all eyes flickered over to where the blonde entered with the Chosen One, and the Hall hushed almost instantly.

His cheeks flamed, and the safe environment he had felt walking alongside Harry vanished. The brunette could see the moment Draco reverted back to his closed off and dispassionate self.

He quickly strided away, feeling guilty for not having said his goodbyes to Harry, but he brushes it off and puts his mask of indifference and superiority back on as he sits down at the Slytherin table.

—

“Wow, he just walked off and left you there and is now laughing with his friends?” Hermione sighed in exasperation of how the Malfoy heir treated Harry in public and continued, “I don’t even know what you see in him, Harry.”

Harry’s warm eyes glanced up at her for a bit before he looked back down at his drink.

“I keep telling you, he’s not actually like that.”

Ron enters into the conversation as he slides into the seat next to Granger,

“Yes Harry, we know you keep saying that, but he doesn’t seem to live up to your tellings, does he? He’s still that cold-hearted, insufferable future Death Eater we all know he is.”

Harry simply responded by saying ‘Yeah, I guess…”, actively deciding not to fight them about this…but a certain someone overheard the conversation between the Golden Trio…

—

Tears pricked the inner corners of his eyes, but he sealed them away, instead having decided to push down all of his feelings until he was alone later that night.

He couldn’t fathom that Harry just sat there while his friends talked about him, like he didn’t have feelings too. They most likely hadn’t realized he could hear them, but it doesn’t make any difference.

Harry, who he considered his closest friend, the only person he ever truly confided in, had just sat back and listened instead of defended him. It seemed silly, but to him, it was betrayal.

Draco didn’t just tell anyone about everything that went on in his life behind the perfected mask, the fact he could hear the Dark Lord attend Death Eater meetings at Malfoy Manor, the way he broke down each night at home; that being the reason he only went back to the Manor if completely necessary. He had told Harry all of these things under the stars, vented about it in hidden libraries, shown a part of himself no one else got to see, and yet- Harry just let them call Draco a “future Death Eater”. He knew Harry didn’t mean it, knew he had just wanted to change the subject, but it still hurt, deeply, since that couldn’t be farther from the truth.

While he was scheduled to bear the Dark Mark before their sixth year, ever since he was young, listening in on all of the meetings held at the Manor, he never truly wanted to support all of the death and darkness related to the “cause”. Seeing his mother a sheer husk of her past self, a mere pawn in the big picture of it all really changed this for Draco.

He suddenly realized he hadn’t talked in the time period he had zoned out, lost in his thoughts, and Theodore Nott was staring at him, obviously having asked him a question while he hadn’t paid attention.

“Malfoy?” Draco visibly flinched at the use of his last name, and internally cursed himself for showing that small amount of weakness in front of his Slytherin peers.

“Yes, Nott?” He asked in a bored tone, keeping up the façade like he wasn’t aching to go back to his dorm and have a breakdown.

“I asked if you had decided whether or not you were trying out to be the Slytherin Seeker for Quidditch again.”

“Oh, I haven’t decided yet…anyway, I’ll see you lot later,” He finds an excuse to leave the dinner table, having barely eaten, but rushing out of the Hall to his dorm, only someone noticed. Draco hadn't seen, but Harry’s eyes had lit up slightly when he saw the sharp movement of navy, but it had dimmed once he saw the look on his face, the look only Harry could decipher, one of concealed desperation to get away.

He all but sprinted to the Slytherin dungeons, aching to get away from everyone, to shed the mask that’s been on for much too long.

Ignoring Pansy and Astoria who were lounging and gossiping on the couch in the Slytherin common room, he briskly entered his dorm room and promptly collapsed on the other side of the door.

His breath caught, and the tears started pouring silently out of his eyes; quiet until he surrendered fully to the sobs.

As he curled up on the floor, he didn’t notice the soft footsteps, didn’t notice the knock- two short, one long, didn’t notice the door move from behind him, didn’t notice until strong arms with a soft touch wrapped around his slim waist.

—

Notes:

this took way too long i fear---as usual:

creds to my beta editor/best friend bailey!! <3 you help so much- i fear i wouldn't even write if it wasn't for you!

lmk in the comments if this was too short- i can totally do longer if that's what you guys prefer, or if the writing style is good!

tysm for reading--p.s. i love responding to comments so don't be shy- i'll totally leave a reply!!

(that rhymed on accident)

Chapter 4: Fight or Flight (Draco's POV)

Summary:

Aftermath of what Draco heard...and a look into how Harry comforts our dear blondie! <3

—

He ran. Like actually RAN.

His mind was blank- his emotional state? Through the roof.

He simply couldn’t believe he had agreed to something so vile, so delusional, so utterly untrue.

And that had most likely caused his friendship with Draco to crumble.

Death Eater? Really Harry? How could he be so stupid. Of course Draco would be upset about that: he hated the effect Voldemort and his followers had on his family, his life, and frankly, the world.

Students walking through the corridors watched in concern to see him absolutely sprinting for the Slytherin common room, but he was not about to stop- he could handle a few judgemental looks.

When he finally arrived at the common room, he whispered the password (given to him by Draco, of course), and ignored everyone in there in his haste to get to Draco’s quarters.

Harry briskly did his usual knock but decided not to wait for Draco to open the door for him and he instead smoothly opened the door and his breath hitched at the sight of the blond crumpled on the floor, his body overtaken by gut-wrenching sobs.

He wrapped his arms around Draco’s willowy figure without hesitation, pulled him close to his chest, and whispered comforting words in order to try and get him to stop weeping.

“H-Harry?” Draco hiccuped.

“It’s me,” His voice cracked slightly.

“Wh-why’re you here?”

“You left so suddenly, I wanted to check on you,” He gently played with Draco’s soft hair, wanting to provide some sort of consolation to the boy, but not knowing how.

His eyes glide over Draco’s appearance- his puffy red eyes, how his splotchy cheeks contrasted the pale creaminess Harry was used to looking at. His heart constricted with pain, aching with not knowing what had caused the blond’s distress.

“What happened, Bunny?”

He can see Draco’s hurt eyes lighten up a bit at the familiar nickname, but he stays silent.

“I heard what your friends said about me…” Draco muttered quietly, his head still buried in Harry’s collarbone.

Harry’s heart stopped for a second, knowing exactly what Draco referred to.

“Oh star, you know that what they said isn’t true,” He tried to console him, but the blonde boy just sniffed.

“You said ‘Yeah’ though,” Draco hesitated before speaking, “Do you really believe what Granger and Wealey said?” Draco wasn’t close with Hermione or Ron yet, so he still referred to them by their last names.

Harry’s eyes widened at his words and he shook his head vehemently.

“Of course not, you’re nothing like them, and you’re certainly not who you were in first, second, and third year either. You’ve changed so much, even if my friends can’t see that.”

Draco’s eyes welled up with tears once more at his tender words, unbelieving that someone could say such sweet things about him.

“R-really?”

“Obviously,” Harry grinned lopsidedly, wanting to make Draco laugh, even for just a second, and he was granted just that.

—

Hours passed, and the boys were now situated beside one another, basked in the comfortable silence, when there was a sudden knock at Draco’s door. Harry glanced briefly at him before he gently got up, careful not to make any sudden movements and trigger the fragility of the moment. He opened the door only to see Ron standing there, looking pissed.

“Blimey mate, where have you been? The whole castle’s been searchin’ for ya! We all saw you dash off but that was ages ago!” Ron looked slightly out of breath from running around the castle looking for him.

“I’ve just been with Draco, no need for a search party, Ron,” Harry said, slightly annoyed that they had only looked for him when Draco was the one that wasn’t okay. Ron rolled his eyes, and he could see the knowing glint in his eye, the same glint Hermione and Ron shared back on the train that he chose to ignore.
“Oh right, of course you were.”

Harry decided to ignore that remark once again and instead herded Ron out of the room and closed the door in his face.

“So annoying,” He muttered, and he really just wanted to talk to Draco, but after taking a look at the blond, he decided today wasn’t the best day to do so.

He asked him softly, “Are you going to head to bed? It’s getting pretty late and we have classes tomorrow.” It was currently one ‘o’ clock in the morning, and they had to get up early to head to Potions.

“Yeah, I will,” Draco said tentatively, feeling bad for having made Harry stay up so late. “I’ll see you tomorrow though?”

He nodded and hugged the smaller boy goodbye then promptly left, aching to get back to the Gryffindor common room and get some much needed sleep on his first night back at Hogwarts.

—

The sun arose and Harry’s owl started to hoot, which signaled his time to start fresh. He then realized he may have needed to check on the blond due to the incident last night, plus the fact that Draco might have still been feeling down.

Before he headed to Potions, he passed by Draco’s room, knocked on the door, Draco drowsily responded,

“Yes? I’m trying to sleep.”

Harry gently opened the door, “You do realize we have potions in 10 minutes.”

Draco scrambled up, his hair tussled “OH! I didn’t realize it was you, Harry! I guess my owl didn’t wake me up”, He stated while he side eyed his owl with an intent to kill.

Harry throws a lopsided grin his way, amused that he could change from being so dejected the night before to back to his snappy self. Maybe things really were okay.

“Alright well, get changed and let’s go.”

—

Notes:

Sorry if it's bad I lowkey rushed it in the past day (even though I had a week to write it)

As always, thanks to my editor/best friend, Bailey, and a new editor enters the villa!! A thank you to my other editor/idea helper Aaron who helped me finish the last 300 words since I was in a writer's block <3

Happy reading and feel free to leave comments!