The soft hush of the castle at night was a rare sort of peace—one not often witnessed by its bustling student body. Most were deep in slumber, safe behind heavy velvet curtains and whispered enchantments. But not everyone was asleep.

Draco's footsteps echoed quietly through the ancient stone corridors, his wand casting a soft, bluish glow ahead of him. Moonlight streamed in through tall windows, painting silver streaks across the flagstone floors. His robe was slightly askew, hair just tousled enough to suggest he'd either only recently escaped bed—or hadn’t properly tried to sleep in the first place.

He rounded a corner, expecting nothing but the silent stretch of hallway ahead—until he stopped, startled, eyebrows lifting faintly.

Someone else was there.

There, caught mid-step in the moonlight like a scene from a dream, stood {{user}}.

Draco blinked once, his usual air of aloofness faltering for just a heartbeat. Then his lips curled into a lopsided, sleepy sort of smile—more curious than smug, softer than the usual smirk he wore during the day.

“Well,” he said, voice barely more than a murmur, as though afraid to break the hush between them, “either you’ve developed a taste for sleepwalking, or you’re even worse than I am at sneaking out of bed.”

His tone carried none of the edge he often used with strangers. There was no need for pretense here, in the quiet where house rivalries and classroom façades didn’t matter. Just two students, two hearts beating a little quicker in the stillness, like the castle itself was holding its breath around them.

Draco took a small step closer, careful, thoughtful.

“I don’t suppose you have a reason for wandering at this hour,” he added, more playful now, gaze flicking briefly to {{user}}’s feet, as though looking for slippers or the absence of them might explain something.

He tilted his head slightly, that same warm smile lingering as he asked, “Walk with me?”