'A sky full of stars

And he was staring at her'

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"Sixteen years I've lived and taught here..." Professor Trelawney quivered in the courtyard, cases of all her things stacked behind her. "Hogwarts is my home. Y-you can't do this!"

A large crowd of students were circled around the courtyard, Umbridge and the Divinations professor in the centre of it. Harry and Adeline watched from the front of the crowd on one of the sides—with Ad in front, considering Harry was about a head taller, Hermione and Ron a little further down through the students.

"Actually, I can." The pink woman spoke with her eyebrows raised, looking delighted to see another so scared, chin lifted with superiority.

Adeline watched with sadness. She'd never spoken directly to the Professor, considering she didn't take Divination, but that didn't mean her empathy was any less. Her mother would probably do something like that; look down on someone else and not feel a tinge of emotion. Addie knew what it was like; to be in the position that Trelawney was. That's probably what led to her breaking off from the crowd, Harry trying to hold her back, though she slipped her arm right through his grasp.

No one was able to react properly—not even Professor Umbridge—as the Riddle girl didn't hesitate to go to the Professor and place a small hand on her shoulder in support. It was such a simple gesture, though it changed many mindsets of the onlookers.

Those who didn't know Adeline were conflicted: why was Voldemort's daughter sympathising with a blubbering mess of a Professor when no one else would?

Unfortunately, people too often judge the whole of a person by their first impression—not that Ad really had the best, considering she literally was pulled from the Black Lake unconscious. A girl whom can barely talk later claims to be the daughter of the darkest wizard currently known to witch and wizard kind? It's really no wonder they thought her too fearful, too different, to be around.

But this little, tiny gesture... what kind of 'bad person' would do that sort of thing willingly? What sort of horrible being would gladly comfort another, especially one they weren't familiar with? That's just it—a bad person wouldn't do that kind of thing. A good person would; which, without Ad knowing, slightly eased people's previous dislike for her.

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Rugged up in her school robe and Gryffindor scarf atop her uniform, the chilly wind hadn't stopped Adeline from her climb to the astronomy tower for the second time. Leaning against the rail of the topmost floor once again by the telescopes, her eyes reflected the stars showing off their light, and like the freckles scattered across her face, constellations could easily be drawn with the mind's eye using the hundreds, if not thousands, of dots.

It was quiet. That's what she liked most about the tower—other than the view, of course. The mansion was just like that, before her mother would wake. She'd sit cross-legged on her bed pushed up against the small, locked window—though to her younger self it seemed huge. The silence was a much better sound than that of yells, elbows propped on the windowsill, supporting her chin.

The sight never really changed outside aside from the few plantations, but it never stopped Addie from wrapping herself in her periwinkle, silk duvet around her small form and stare, lost in thought. Only twice was it ever that quiet—in the early morning or the middle of the night. The window was always cold like her mother if she were to touch it, but the heavy blanket kept her comforted and warm, until her mother were to wake—at exactly six am, every single day.

"Aren't you cold, Addie?" A voice broke her thoughts, turning her head to the sound. Harry walked over to stand beside her, also wearing his robe and clean Gryffindor scarf over his uniform just like her, hands buried in his pockets. "It's freezing out here."

"You get used to it after a little." She shrugged, smirking lightly. "Are you cold?"

"What? No!" He shook his head, though clearly shivered after a larger gust of wind as if on cue, his nose tinting pink. Addie quirked an eyebrow, and he playfully rolled his eyes. "Fine, but just a bit."

"Sure." She teased.

"Then why are you out here?" At his look, she expanded. "If you're cold?"

"I wanted to give you company," Harry spoke back, his hair ruffling in the wind, still looking toward her even if Adeline had already torn her gaze back to the stars. Seeing her brows slightly crease, he answered the unspoken question. "I was looking for you and saw you come up here just before."

"Why were you looking for me?" She asked, head cocking slightly, making eye contact.

It was difficult to completely see his eyes, as it was both dark and his glasses lens reflected the light from the moon and the night sky, but she could still (though barely) make out the vibrant forest green irises she knew all too well.

"Dumbledore reckons I should keep an eye on you—make sure you're alright." It was the truth, though only about half. Harry didn't mention about them needing to find out about her placement in the Black Lake, nor how he was sent to protect her the previous year. The time wasn't right just yet.

Ad thought on this for a bit, though didn't comment. They stood in comfortable silence for who knows how long, finding solace in the stars and in each other's presence, the cool wind sprouting goose bumps along their skin, subconsciously leaning into one another's nearest arm.

"What does trust mean to you?" Addie spoke out of the blue, catching him off guard. "I mean, I've noticed that people have different... perceptions on some words—like love and trust."

"I've never really thought about it." Harry shrugged, keeping his eyes trained above, smiling to himself as Adeline linked her arm through his in an act to gain warmth. "But I guess... when you trust someone, you believe in them. You believe in their ability to do things. Like, knowing that if you fall, you can rely on them to have their arms out. To catch you."

He felt her head nod, as it was leaning against his upper-arm.

"To me, trust is always there, even if you can't feel it. Even if it feels like it'll never come back. It's still there... somewhere. You just have to look a little harder." Adeline thought aloud. "Do you trust me, Harry?"

"Of course I do, Addie." He didn't hesitate. "You know I do."

She nodded again. "I trust you, too."

Harry held her hand in response, and hearing her breath hitch, he averted his gaze to her small figure against his.

A thick, black smoke was slowly creeping its way from the soles of her shoes up her legs. He flinched, unlinking their arms and turning Adeline to face him. She could barely speak, eyes watering, letting out a fearful, strangled sob.

"Harry—it's happening again—" She sucked in a breath. "I-I can't stop it! I'm sorry—I'm sorry!"

It continued to crawl higher and higher—currently at her hip—Harry's hands on both her shoulders, finally meeting her eyes.

"Hey, hey, hey—it's okay, it's okay. Just breathe with me, Addie. Breathe." He assured her. "You don't have to be sorry for anything. I've got you. Okay?"

She nodded, following his instructions of 'in... and out' with needed effort, closing her eyes. Warmth, warmth, think of warmth... but it wasn't working. She tried a happy memory—any good memory, but nothing was working.

The smoke had reached her neck by now, and opening her eyes, she met his. Finally recognising his hands on her shoulders, the feeling of being held up by someone, someone who cares, she breathed out, just thinking of the warmth, and the smoke trailed back down painfully slow.

Adeline, once the smoke had fully disappeared, reached her arms out around Harry's neck, burying her head in his shoulder. He wrapped his own around her back and hugged her just as tight.

There they were, two students under the stars and galaxies and moons, holding each other as if at any given moment, something unknown would rip them apart.

Again.

a/n:

okay so I honestly loved writing this chapter,,,

Thank you all for reading, voting, commenting, etc!! It really means a lot :)

-G