I wanna wake up with the sunlight in my eyes
The Dungeons are always cold, especially on winter evenings. That's why everyone believes they are cold- hearted, because they live down there. Truth is everyone has a heart, even the calculating, mercenary Slytherins.
However, most of them act like they don't. They pretend to have forgotten; they have buried their hearts, their fears, their feelings. Those are dark times- even for them. There's no room for second thoughts or backward glances; even the Slytherins have to make a decision.
For her, it was never an easy choice, and although she never told him, he knew. She wasn't forced by family or circumstances to join the one side or the other. But she knew very well she had to make a decision.
Daphne Greengrass would never doubt her upbringing. But being the practical woman that she was, her safety and future came first. Voldemort's chances were bigger than Potter's. So, she made her choice. But that didn't mean she didn't doubt it.
She often hides in some dark corner, thinking of better times, looking for a way out to the dead end war is. As a Slytherin, she doesn't have to worry about being tortured, but she still cannot sleep well at night. Some things are just too horrible even for the strongest to take.
That's how he finds her one night, next to the common room's window, looking at the big clear sky. She realizes his presence and turns to look at him, making him wish she wouldn't; her eyes will hunt him forever; they' re more desperate than those of the kids they crucify day by day.
Theodore Nott considers himself a strong person; he's not the one to fall for pleas and begs; he's not the one to give second chances. He does what's necessary for himself and his family. There should not be anyone else for him to care for on such days and people like him know that very well; in his seventeen years he has seen too much, even for a Death Eater's son.
Yet, he falls for her eyes; those big, desperate, blue eyes that scream for attention. He blesses himself that it's her and not some slimy Mudblood, but deep inside him he knows that it's not the blood or the eyes, it's the girl herself.
They've been friends for years, in that mocking, thick, as some say, way Slytherins are friends. However, it's everything but thick; they can understand each other. Friends are to have fun with; friends are to spend your time with. In hard times many will come near you, each for his personal reasons, but few will stay through happiness. And in their House, between people to whom no one else wants to talk- that's more than enough.
"Do you think the sun will ever rise, Theo?" she asks him, pointing to the dark blue sky. "It's always dark these days… Like an eternal night."
He doesn't answer her. He can't answer her. All he does is move closer and sit with her.
"Theo?" she asks him another night.
Lately, there's no room for jokes between them, no room for witty comments; lately things have gotten serious. Openly, they have nothing to be afraid of; their side is winning. But the world has changed too fast for their sake and they knew that everything can change as easily again.
"What do you think happens after we die?"
Again he has no answers. However, this time he decides to answer with a question.
"Why?"
"I'm scared."
Who isn't, would be a good answer but it's too sharp for a night like this. Instead he chooses to caress her hair and kiss her forehead, promising her that he won't let anything to happen to her.
And then, the world changes again- as they knew it would. One night everything they were afraid of happens. And they are the losers. They are given no second chances, no matter how much Harry Potter tries to prove to the others that some are willing to change. They are charged for no crimes but their families and prides are wounded; their circle, the so famous pureblood aristocracy, is now just another proof of decadence.
Daphne is still waiting for the sunlight, and he is doing anything to get the best for her. Because in his life there's no real sunlight and he won't allow himself to hope for it. In his life there's just her, and she's all the sun he needs.
My first attempt on Daphne/Theo, written for s i l v e r a u r o r a, who took the third place in the Don't Get Too Friendly Competition. Congratulations dear, you definitely deserved it:)
I took inspiration for this from Sunlight, a beautiful Diana Vickers song;)
Thank you, mew, for being a wonderful beta offering help with this one!