The Way My Heart Skipped A Beat In The End - Tumblr Posts

Phases

For the old @drarrymicrofic prompt: Lunar. It turned out to be like 1.6k lol. I got my info about space from this website. Big thanks to my darling @written-in-ash for the beta!

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🌑New moon: The moon is between Earth and the sun, and the side of the moon facing toward us receives no direct sunlight; it is lit only by dim sunlight reflected from Earth.

He brings the bottle to his lips, grinning into the sip at something Weasley says. Leaning against the bar, he swallows and says something in return that makes Weasley laugh heartily and Granger roll her eyes.

Next to me, Pansy nudges my arm gently. "Go over and talk to him."

I shake my head. "Not now."

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🌒Waxing crescent: As the moon moves around Earth, the side we can see gradually becomes more illuminated by direct sunlight.

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"Malfoy," he says with a slight nod as he passes me in the corridor.

I choke on nothing, spinning around and watching his retreating back.

"Hi Potter," I whisper to the now empty hallway.

I kick myself the entire way back to my office.

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🌓First quarter: The moon is 90 degrees away from the sun in the sky and is half-illuminated from our point of view.

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"You're right."

I blink. "What?"

He shrugs. "You're right. We hadn't thought of that. I'll have someone from my team look into whether the suspect has a history with rare curses. Is tomorrow soon enough for us to get that to you?"

I clear my throat. "Er, yes, that would be acceptable."

He nods once. "Thanks, Malfoy."

"Sure," I say, resisting the urge to run out of his office. I'm sure I'm imagining the heat of his eyes on me as I walk away.

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🌔Waxing gibbous: The area of illumination continues to increase. More than half of the moon's face appears to be getting sunlight.

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"Malfoy, wait up!"

I hold back a sigh and turn to face Potter, ignoring the butterflies in my stomach. "What is it, Potter?"

He catches up to where I'm stopped in the hallway. He grins brightly. "Want to get dinner? With me, I mean. Together."

I furrow my eyebrows. "Is this a work thing?"

He blushes. "Er, no. It's just...y'know, I'm hungry, and I assume you're hungry since you just had that apple for lunch and—"

"How do you know what I had for lunch?"

"I, um, I just noticed. Y'know us Aurors, always hyper-aware," he chuckles nervously. "So. Dinner?"

"Y-yes. Okay. Yes."

"Great, it's a date." He smiles, already walking away. "Meet at The Rose Garden at 7?"

I can only nod in response, but his wide grin is enough to tell me he saw it—and to keep me rooted to the spot for several minutes.

_

🌕Full moon: The moon is 180 degrees away from the sun and is as close as it can be to being fully illuminated by the sun from our perspective.

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"Merry Christmas, Draco. We're glad you're here." Mrs. Weasley—Molly, I remind myself—hands me a soft lump wrapped in thin wrapping paper.

I tear it open, the paper coming apart easily in my hands after I undo the stubbornly knotted ribbon holding it all together. I can't help the way my lips part slightly in surprise at the soft green jumper, a 'D' stitched in silver on the front.

I look up at Molly, my throat thick with emotion when I whisper, "Thank you, Molly."

"You're welcome, dear," she smiles, reaching up to cup my cheek gently before moving to the other side of the room, muttering something about the mess of wrapping paper strewn about the rug.

I look around the room at the others, watching them exchange gifts, thank-yous, hugs, and laughter. My eyes meet Harry's and I hold his gaze as I pull on the sweater, only breaking eye contact when it goes over my head.

His eyes lock onto mine again, and I never want to let go.

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🌖Waning gibbous: More than half of the moon's face appears to be getting sunlight, but the amount is decreasing.

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"What do you mean you're not coming, Harry? This has been planned for months!" I'm done trying to keep my tone perfectly even, indignation and disbelief tightening my chest.

Harry at least looks contrite. "I'm sorry, okay? I thought it was the weekend after."

"The invitation has been hanging on the refrigerator for months!" I huff.

Harry sighs. "I had every intention of attending Pansy's charity ball, but this is the biggest match of the season and no one expected the Cannons to make it this far. Ron would be devastated if I didn't go with him."

I grit my teeth. "And Weasley's feelings are more important than mine?"

"That's not what I said and you know it," Harry narrows his eyes. "And honestly, it won't kill us to be apart for a weekend. It's okay for us to do things separately."

I ignore the weird way that stings. "Except that Pansy has been relying on you to make an appearance to bring in more donations." I roll my eyes. "But whatever, Potter. Go to the stupid game. I suppose it's alright for you to miss this. But next time, you'll come with me, alright?"

Harry nods. "Yeah, I will. Thanks, Draco." His smile is soft and hopeful, and most of my anger melts away.

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🌗Last quarter: The moon has moved another quarter of the way around Earth, to the third quarter position. The sun's light is now shining on the other half of the visible face of the moon.

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I say it without really thinking after we babysit Teddy together for an afternoon. "Other people's children are great because you can give them back at the end of the day," I chuckle, leaning back against the couch.

"You think so?" Harry smiles wistfully. "I can't wait to have kids one day."

"You want children?" I ask as nonchalantly as I can. Not now, not now notnownotnownotnow.

Harry scoffs lightly, but not unkindly. "Of course I do. Who doesn't want kids?"

"Plenty of people, I'd think."

"They're crazy," Harry shakes his head. "I'm so excited to be a father."

"Well, not all of us want to be parents, Potter," I snap. His eyes widen and jump to mine.

"You don't want kids?"

"No, I don't," I say shortly.

"Why haven't we talked about this before?" He furrows his eyebrows.

I shrug. "I don't know. It's never come up."

"But—are kids a dealbreaker for you? I mean, would you come around to it if I—if your partner wanted them?"

I release a shaky breath, looking away. "I don't know. Would you be happy being with someone who doesn't want children?"

I see him clench his jaw out of the corner of my eye. He's quiet for a little while, and I nearly startle when he breaks the silence.

"I don't know."

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🌘Waning crescent: Less than half of the moon's face appears to be getting sunlight, and the amount is decreasing.

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His knuckles are white around the handle of the suitcase. "This is just something I have to do."

My body responds as if some emergency lever is pulled inside of me. My arms fall to my sides, my back straightens, my face is blank, my voice is emotionless. "Leave your key on the side table. I'll owl your things tomorrow."

His eyes well with tears, and something inside my mind is screaming at me to do something, to fix this, to pull the suitcase from his hand and his body into my arms.

He nods and turns around. I close my eyes so I don't have to see him leave.

_

🌑New moon: Finally, the moon is back to its new moon starting position. Now, the moon is between Earth and the sun.

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I don’t watch him as he approaches me, waiting until he’s standing at my table before acknowledging him.

“Hi, Draco.” Time has been kind to him; the pictures in the Prophet don’t do him justice. But I don’t tell him that.

Instead, I say, “Potter.”

He nods at the empty chair across from me. “May I sit?”

I raise an eyebrow. “Shouldn’t you be getting home? I’m sure your kids would want to spend time with their father now that they’re home for summer hols.” I try not to sound bitter, but the wry twist of his mouth tells me I wasn’t entirely successful.

“They’re with Ginny. And they’re not kids anymore. Lily just graduated Hogwarts, and the other two are at university.” His smile is just a little bit far away, tinged with pride.

“Congratulations, Potter. You and your wife must be very proud parents.”

He gets a funny look on his face that makes me want to both punch him and wipe it off with my lips on his. “That’s all we are. Co-parents, I mean. We’ve been divorced for two years. I thought you knew?”

“I’m not one of your adoring fans, Potter. I don’t read about your life in the papers,” I roll my eyes. “I thought that’s what you liked about me,” I can’t help but say it, and I don’t care how petty it looks.

His eyes twinkle. “It’s just one of the things I like about you.”

“Do go on, Potter,” I drawl to belie the thrill that rushes through me.

He chuckles. “I will. Maybe over dinner? I’m hungry, are you?”

I squash the hope that rises before I let myself sink into it. “What are you doing, Potter?”

His face falls a little, but he looks into my eyes with a determination that still makes my heart race. He sits in the empty chair at my table, taking my hand from across the wooden surface between us.

“Starting over.”