Draco Malfoy, dragging his weary steps, was climbing the steep spiral staircase of the Astronomy Tower.
If it were not for his Astronomy class that evening, he would not have wanted to walk towards that ominous tower.... a place that cast a shadow over the depths of his heart.
Actually he was not feeling well today.
He had only taken a short nap in his dormitory, and had been plagued by countless nightmares.
In his dream, Marvolo would always lunge at him with a sinister grin, screaming as he tried to strangle him, accusing him of being the thief who had taken the Slytherin locket.
What a wicked dream.
He quickly fled from the dream, fled from the four-poster bed, and fled the room at the bottom of the Black Lake that was filled with eerie shadows and whispers, as if fleeing from a man-eating monster.
With the soft thud of his shoes against the stone steps, he took a deep breath of the fresh night air in the tower and finally felt a long-lost sense of clarity.
There was no moonlight tonight, but plenty of stars.... a perfect night for an Astronomy lesson.
The Bloody Baron was groaning and clanking his chains somewhere below... when students came to class, he always chose to temporarily leave the tower to avoid their curious or fearful gazes.
Just as the two of them brushed past each other, the ghost suddenly raised its dull eyes and murmured expressionlessly, "You have come."
Draco nodded silently to him, wondering why he had suddenly spoken.
"You have an evil smell on you," the Baron said abruptly, then returned to his low moaning and slowly drifted away.
Draco, puzzled, raised his sleeve and sniffed himself, but found nothing unusual.
He should have put his mind to it and thought more carefully about the meaning of the Bloody Baron's words; but today he was truly exhausted and felt numb and desolate.
Let us just assume this is another of the Baron's ramblings.
He thought lazily as he slowly strolled into the classroom where a huge astronomical model hung.
When Hermione arrived at the Astronomy Tower, she saw this scene: a pale-faced boy gazing melancholically at the sky, his platinum-blonde hair appearing somewhat dull in the flickering candlelight. He leaned against an iron railing, frowning, staring through the huge floor-to-ceiling windows at the inky black night sky.
There was a kind of beauty about him that seemed on the verge of collapse. Like he might be carried away by the wind at any moment, or plummet to the bottom of the tower. Hermione shook her head, trying to dispel this ominous feeling.
"Draco, are you alright?" She held her breath and spoke softly, as if afraid of shattering his peace.
"I am alright." He did not look back at her, his tone as indifferent as cold water.
"You seem to have something on your mind." She stared at him intently, secretly hoping he would turn around and look at her instead of staring into the dark void.
"It is nothing serious," Draco said listlessly, letting out a sigh.
He forced himself to look at Hermione. Her cheeks were flushed with a soft pink, and her slightly damp hair draped over her shoulders, making it seem as if she had just taken a shower.
Unlike before, she held nothing in her hands except a small pair of binoculars, and the lines of her neck and collarbone were finally freed from their constraints, liberated from behind the heavy books.
Her expression was initially somewhat serious, but when she saw him turn around, she gave him a faint smile.
Draco was in a much better mood.
A faint scent of green apples drifted on the air, which neutralised the heavy bitterness in his heart. He suddenly felt an emptiness in his stomach.
"Tell me, Draco.... why did you not eat dinner?" Hermione asked him, watching him with a suspicious gaze.
"I did eat," he said, making up an excuse.
"Nonsense.... you were not even at the dinner table!" She glared at him. "I saw you in the corridor! You went back to the Slytherin common room around dinner time, did you not?"
"I was not hungry," Draco said, turning his face away.
"Again Nonsense! Look at your face.... it is so pale it looks like a ghost!" Hermione said angrily.
Draco touched his face in a daze, looking at Hermione with a puzzled expression.
"I have always been fair-skinned.... "
"Wrong! Completely wrong! What you are experiencing is called hypoglycaemia in the Muggle world. When you are truly healthy, your face is rosy, and you look well after you have eaten.... " Hermione rambled on.
Draco tried to back away, but she followed him relentlessly.
"Very well. What can I do about it now? I have already missed dinner." He shrugged, striking an innocent pose.
Her interruption had completely erased his troubling hallucinations. His eyes and mind were now filled with her relentless, indignant expression.
"Here you go." Hermione furtively pulled a bulging brown paper bag from her robe pocket, inside which was a green apple, a warm pumpkin pasty wrapped in paper, and a large piece of chocolate cake.
Draco looked surprised, his expression freezing for a moment.
It feels wonderful.
When you are atop a tower, surrounded by a profound loneliness, utterly despondently recalling filth, sin, sharp blades, and thorns, feeling as if the whole world is impossibly far away.... than some innocent girl suddenly runs over, bringing with her unique liveliness and the sweet aroma of food, boldly capturing all your attention and gently pulling you out of your despair.
"I used a Heat-Keeping Charm," Hermione said smugly. Like a little mouse that had stolen cheese, she pulled him to a sheltered gap beneath the observation deck. "Look.... it is still steaming! Eat up before class starts and Professor Sinistra arrives."
For some inexplicable reason, the young Malfoy heir, imitating Hermione, sat cross-legged on the floor, ignoring the dust, manners, and decorum.
Under her encouraging gaze, he took a big bite of the sweet, warm pumpkin pasty.
"Thank you. It is delicious," Draco said softly, suddenly feeling a lump in his throat.
Then he saw her magically produce a strange Muggle contraption from her other pocket and pour hot tea into the lid.
"What is this strange thing?" He was a little caught off guard by her actions, and the ache behind his eyes instantly subsided.
"The Thermos flask was invented by Muggles. The principle is rather like putting a permanent Heat-Keeping Charm on the container," Hermione explained to him, then urged him on, a hint of delight in her eyes, "Drink up .... it is your favourite tea, is it not?"
"Of course. It is my favourite." He smiled slightly at her, inhaling the fragrant aroma of the tea, his eyes brighter than the stars in the night sky.
"I think your soul number should be one as well by now. You are far more wilful than me .... skipping meals whenever you please. Do you not always say you are hungry? Are you planning to starve yourself to death? Do I have to force you to eat every single day?" Hermione said to him with a stern face.
Draco did not miss her feigned fierce expression. With an awkward father like Lucius, Hermione's underlying concern for him was as clear as day.
"I am sorry," he said softly. "I made you worry."
Hermione frowned at him, wanting to scold him a few more times, but she did not know what to say.... his willingness to admit his mistake was too disarming, leaving her no room to manoeuvre.
Draco chuckled softly at her troubled expression. He reached out and smoothed the furrow in her brow.
Without any apparent reason, he said softly, "The moonlight is beautiful tonight."
Hermione looked surprised.
In a moment of strange inspiration, she felt that he was touching not only her brow, but also her heart.
She did not have time to dwell on this strange idea, because his words just now were clearly rather foolish. So she glanced at the night sky and chuckled, "Draco, are you hallucinating from hunger? There is no moon tonight. But the wind is quite gentle."
He simply looked at her and smiled, without saying a word.