Padma had managed to avoid Theo for a few days by leaving him piles of research to read in the office and disappearing before anyone got in. Alicia accused her of being childish, but Padma couldn't bring herself to tell Alicia exactly why she was so upset.

"Take him with you today Padma," Alicia said sternly, having come into the office early so she could confront her friend. "Theo's been stuck here for days, being all silent and somber. Was it a mistake to hire him?"

Padma sighed. She could forgive Theo his comments, but the more serious problem was they were falling into the same old patterns. He would be protective of her, and she would assert her independence. She would read his moods through his silence, and he would deny the emotions she could plainly see. They were getting entangled with eachother, something Padma had promised her sister wouldn't happen. "No, it wasn't a mistake exactly, I just need to keep things professional between the two of us, that's all."

"Um, so I could be wrong here, but wouldn't the professional thing to do be to stop avoiding him?" Alicia questioned. "Just take him along with you today. Then you'll have the weekend to be Theo-free, and there's your sister's party tonight. I'm hoping if you unwind and spend some time with your friends, you'll snap out of this I have to work with an ex-Death Eater all day funk."

Padma smiled broadly at her friend's teasing. "Fine, I'll take him. But you have to help me get dressed tonight."

"Me? You're the Indian one, don't you know how to put on a saree?"

"Yes, but it's one of Parvati's creations. And it came with three bags of accessories. I'm gonna need help to get it right."

"Fine. I'm so excited for tonight. Oliver and I haven't been out in ages. And Oliver looks so handsome in dress robes," Alicia wiggled her eyebrows at Padma.

"Yeah, Oliver is so dreamy," Padma said fluttering her eyelashes while leaning dramatically against the wall. "He's so muscular, and Quidditchy, and... Scottish. I could totally fall for a guy like him."

Alicia stuck her tongue out at Padma.

"Good morning," Theo said from close by, startling the girls out of their conversation.

"Good morning, Theo," Padma said straightening suddenly, while Alicia supressed a giggle.

Soon Padma and Theo were on their way to Hogwarts, where Padma had an appointment for an interview with Madam Pomfrey. Theo apparated them to the gates, but Padma kept her hand on his arm to hold him back. "Wait Theo, I just want to say, let's forget what happened the other day."

Theo nodded his head emotionlessly while looking towards the gates. "That's fine." Padma sighed with frustration at Theo's taciturn reply, but this was Theo after all, what was she expecting?

Theo's silence endured as they made their way to the castle, but Padma hardly noticed. This was her first time back in years, and it felt very strange. The sky was filled with clouds, but that didn't seem to dampen the excitement of the new batch of young wizards and witches who were laughing and playing out on the grounds. They seemed happy and carefree-normal.

Padma was still smiling to herself when Headmistress McGonagall greeted them at the entrance to the Great Hall. "Ms. Patil, Mr. Nott, welcome back to Hogwarts," McGonagall's sternness had remained intact over the last few years, but Padma couldn't muster the same degree of self-control.

"Professor-I mean Headmistress, everything seems so great here," Padma said in her naturally girly voice that she often tried to mask for her work. "The castle has been repaired and the children look happy. It's wonderful that everyone here seems to have moved on, but you'll have to forgive me, I'm finding it all a little strange to see."

"I understand how you feel, Ms. Patil," the headmistress responded. "I'm often amazed how much this place has healed in only a few years. I think we have the students to thank for that. I find that young people are often far better at forgetting the past and living in the present. Now, I shall take you to see Madam Pomfrey, and then you are both welcome to stay with us for lunch of course."

"Thank you headmistress, we would like that," Padma said looking at Theo to try to gauge his reaction, but he seemed even more guarded than usual. Ever the Slytherin, Padma thought to herself.

Padma and Theo's interview with Madam Pomfrey was more fruitful than they had expected. She was able to provide records that showed that Dumbledore had been on the verge of dying from the injuries he sustained to his hand when Snape finally executed him. This was as good as circumstantial evidence was going to get for their case.

As they made their way back to the Great Hall, Padma asked Theo if he wanted to stay at Hogwarts for lunch.

"Do you want to stay?" Theo questioned before answering.

"Well, yes, I would like to. The meals here were delicious."

"Well, let's stay then." Theo said without offering his own opinion, much to Padma's frustration.

Upon entering the Great Hall, an excited looking seventh year made her way over to Padma. "Hi Padma, what are you doing here?" She said while giving her a hug.

"I'm here for business, you look so great Amy, all grown up." Padma returned enthusiastically.

Amy had been a third year Ravenclaw during Padma's last year, and quite a rebel during the Carrow era. One of Padma's longest detentions with Snape had been due to Amy. She had taken the blame for a particularly difficult prank Amy had designed. Amy had bricked over the doors to the Carrow offices to exactly match the surrounding wall. The job was so well done that it had taken the Carrows twenty minutes of walking back and forth to realize the doors were missing, while students gathered around and started giggling. It had been the better part of the day before they had actually gotten in. The Carrows were furious and more than willing to assume it had been one of Neville's set, though this was too subtle and smart to be a Gryffindor prank. A Ravenclaw had to take the fall and Padma volunteered herself, she couldn't bear to see them torture a third year. Besides, whatever the punishment was, the brilliant prank had been worth it.

"Come sit with us, I want everyone to meet you," Amy implored.

"Sure, you coming Theo?" Padma asked, butTheo excused himself to go sit with his house.

During her school years, Padma occasionally wished she had been in Gryffindor with her sister. But today at lunch, she was definitely grateful for the intelligence that was the hallmark of her house. Many of Amy's friends were eager to hear some of the stories from Padma's time, which had become legendary in Ravenclaw, but all had the good sense to avoid asking her about the Final Battle. Mostly she talked about the pranks of their final year, the Yule Ball the Patil sisters attended with Harry Potter and Ron Weasley, and the adventures of Loony, I mean Luna Lovegood. She was a bit taken aback by the amount of detail these kids already seemed to know.

When Padma was done eating, she excused herself and walked over to the Slytherin table. She stood right next to Theo who was eating silently. Still so solitary, Padma thought to herself. Even though they were no longer students, and the division between Slytherin and every other house was no longer so stark, the act of sitting at the Slytherin table still felt forbidden.

She slid onto the bench next to Theo and said, "Hi Theo. How was your lunch?"

"Fine," Theo said giving her a cursory glance.

After a few seconds, Padma said, "This is my first time sitting at the Slytherin table you know."

"I would think a pretty little innocent Ravenclaw like you wouldn't want to be seen at the Slytherin table," Theo teased.

But the blood drained from Padma's face as she remembered having heard him say something very much like that before.

Padma hurried as quickly as she could towards Gryffindor Tower with the healing potions she and Terry had just finished brewing for Seamus. With Hermione gone, there wasn't anyone left in Gryffindor able to brew advanced potions. She was thinking about how badly she would be punished if she was caught out after curfew when a dark slim figure emerged from the shadows in front of her. Shit, Padma thought to herself.

Theo was staring her down. "I can't believe I've caught you out again. You helping that half-blood Finnigan this time?"

"I have to Theo, he's in a lot of pain," Padma pleaded, exhausted from brewing for hours.

"Well maybe he shouldn't mouth off all the damn time," Theo countered.

"Well maybe his mouthing off gives all the rest of us some hope that we can still fight back," Padma muttered emotionally.

Theo sighed. "You're mad. Look around, the Dark Lord already controls everything."

Padma's eyes narrowed angrily, "Well he doesn't control me."

"Oh, is that so? Then why are you here, sneaking around in the middle of the night, scared half to death?"

"I won't debate this with you Theo, just let me take these potions to him. Please," Padma renewed her entreaty.

"Potions? You need charmed bandages for that wound," Theo said.

"We don't have any, none of us could make the charm stick," Padma said, her eyes downcast.

Theo stared at her for a moment, his brow furrowing. He then withdrew a handkerchief from his pocket which he quickly transfigured to bandages and then performed the complicated charm that would ensure that any skin wrapped in the bandage healed quickly.

A smile broke out on Padma's face as she looked at Theo. "Take it," he said thrusting the bandage into her hands.

"Theo, you have to teach me how to do that."

"Just take it and go Patil."

"No please, I'm begging you. We need help, or we'll never survive this. Can you meet me tomorrow night, in the classroom at the end of the fifth floor corridor?"

"No way Patil," Theo said walking away.

"I'll be waiting for you Theo," Padma said to his retreating back, before scurrying away. If she could just get Theo to teach her advanced Charms, for healing and defense, it would be a boon to their little resistance. Padma certainly hadn't expected help from Theodore Nott, Slytherin pureblood, but he had given it twice now. Maybe he wanted to join their resistance. Padma hoped that was the case, for the sake of the skills and information he could bring to the group, as well as more personal reasons. She was hesitant to admit it, even to herself, but she was intrigued by the taciturn Slytherin.

The next night, Padma yawned as the clock chimed midnight, and there was still no sign of Theo. She was disheartened but decided to wait a little longer. Soon, she dozed off while sitting against the wall. Next thing she knew, something was tapping on her shoulder.

"Wake up Patil, do you know what would have happened if I hadn't been the one that found you here?" Padma blinked as her eyes focused on Theo's scowling face.

"You came," she said, sleep still clouding her mind.

Padma spent the next hour learning two advanced spells from Theo. She worked hard, perservering despite repeatedly failing to produce the correct charm. The room was dark and silent, and the atmosphere was tense, as Theo hovered close and gave her terse instruction. When she finally performed the spells correctly she broke into a grin.

"That's enough for tonight, but you'll need to practice more," Theo said in his usual solemn mood.

"I will, don't worry. Thanks Theo," Padma said stepping up on her tiptoes to give him a quick peck on the cheek.

"Careful Patil, or your friends will think their pretty little Ravenclaw princess has sullied herself by associating with a dark evil Slytherin," Theo said moodily.

Padma smirked. "I am hardly a princess anymore Theo. I think my days of thinking about clothes and gossiping about boys are over. It's like you said, the Dark Lord controls everything now, and all I can do is struggle against him. Besides, you're evidence that being in Slytherin doesn't mean you're dark and evil." Padma's heart pounded as she reached out and held his hand.

Theo's words were harsh, but Padma noticed he didn't pull his hand away. "You're naive Padma. I am a Dark Wizard. My father is one of the Dark Lord's highest ranking
Death Eaters. Everyone knows it."

"Then why are you helping me?" Padma persisted.

"Because you're a foolish witch, but you're a Pureblood who I don't want to see getting hurt. Or maybe I'm trying to turn you to our side."

Padma tried to speak with as much authority as she could muster. "I may seem like a foolish, uncertain, little girl Theo, but don't hold your breath, I'd rather die than serve the Dark Lord."

Theo bent his head to hers and kissed her gently while brushing her cheek with his fingers. Despite the lightness of his touch, the kiss was filled with intensity.

After they broke apart, Theo stated with an unreadable expression, "We'll see."

Padma caught her breath and said, "But you will keep teaching me?"

Theo was halfway out the door when he paused and said, "Yes."

They continued to meet whenever they could, and Padma had secretly begun teaching her newly mastered spells to other former D.A. members. But she hadn't revealed the source of her knowledge, regardless of Parvati's urging.

Over the next few months, Theo and her grew close, despite their continued political battle. They spent as much time kissing and arguing when they met as they spent training. As she got to know him better, she became convinced that she could bring him around to their side. Sure he was a haughty pureblood, but his heart wasn't in Voldemort's fight. The only problem was his family and pureblood society, which Theo was unlikely to ever shirk.

One night, Padma decided to put her ability to cast a Disillusionment charm to the test. She clutched a small package to her chest as she made her way through the dungeons. With a lot of planning and a little luck she made it into the Slytherin common room and down to the boys dormitory. Her heart raced. If she was discovered here, the results would be catastrophic. When had she become so foolish about Theo, she wondered.

She knocked softly on his door, and undid the disillusionment when Theo opened it, revealing herself. His eyes bulged in shock, and he quickly yanked her in and cast a silencing charm on the door before his outburst. "What the hell are you doing down here? Are you mad, do you know what'll happen if you get caught?"

Padma said, "I need to know something Theo, do you consider me your girlfriend? I mean pretend we didn't have this war and we didn't have to hide every time we met. Would we be dating?"

Theo's shock from her sudden appearance had barely worn off when Padma decided to present him with this startling new question. "Padma, I think you really have gone mad. We're in the middle of a fucking war. I'm not about to take you out to Madam Puddifoot's."

"Fine, let me start over," Padma said and averted her gaze to the floor. "I'm falling for you Theo, I mean, I'm falling in love with you, I think. I don't know, I've just never felt this way before. And since I consider you my boyfriend, I thought, well, that I should help you celebrate like I was your girlfriend, so here," Padma held out her little bundle, "Happy birthday!"

Padma's face was flushed by the end of her rambling speech and she looked at Theo's face nervously, waiting for a response. Theo took the package from her hands and began opening it. "You shouldn't be in love with me Padma," he said. Padma's heart sank, she had been hoping for at least a little reciprocation. "But I might be falling for you too."

"REALLY!" Padma squealed and threw herself into Theo's arms. He smiled and looked past the mass of girl currently trying to burrow into his chest to the old worn book he had just unwrapped. It was titled, "Wands: Do They Have a Mind of Their Own? A Collection of Dark Tales".

"Uh, Padma, I can't wait to read it, but this is a library book," Theo said.

"Well, I couldn't exactly go shopping in Hogsmeade, could I? So I stole it," Padma said still clinging to him.

"You stole it?"

"Yes, from the Restricted Section," Padma smiled up into Theo's face.

"You're becoming reckless, you know that?" Theo glared down at her.

Padma shrugged. "Well, I just wanted to get you something you'd like, future wandmaker." She stood up on her toes and kissed Theo softly at first, and then brought her hands around the back of his neck as he deepened the kiss.

After a few seconds Theo broke away and buried his fingers in Padma's long black hair. "So, you snuck all the way down here to give me a stolen book? And how, pray tell, were you planning on getting back out tonight? It's past curfew now. The Slytherin Prefects will be out patrolling the dungeons."

"I was hoping I could spend the night here." Padma felt shy as she made her declaration. "It's just that things are so uncertain, and who knows how long we have, so I thought-"

Theo cut off her embarassed rambling with another kiss, but this time ran his hands down the sides of her arms until they came to rest on her hips. "I brought some night clothes to change into," Padma said while stepping out of his grasp and undoing the buttons on her robe. Theo eyed her intensely as she backed away. "Well, aren't you going to turn around?"

"No, I don't think so."

Padma courage was starting to fail her. "You should know Theo, I don't really know about this stuff, I mean I know about it obviously, but I've never you know, slept with anyone."

"Yeah, I figured," Theo joked, earning a glare from Padma. "Well you should know, that I haven't exactly slept with anyone either."

Padma stacked her clothes neatly on a chair, determined not to act completely self-conscious as she stood there in her bra and knickers. She had picked out a dark gray lacy pair for the night, just in case everything went as planned. Padma pulled a short sleeveless night gown quickly over head.

"You look beautiful," Theo said and then walked to his wardrobe kicking off his shoes as he went. "Well, I guess I should change too." He began undressing and heard a giggle as he pulled his shirt off and turned sharply in Padma's direction.

"Sorry," Padma said looking away, but sneaking glances over her shoulder. It's just that I haven't really seen a guy undress before. I mean, I've seen Neville and Seamus and Terry, but they were injured and bleeding and it wasn't really sexy at all."

Theo frowned. "Are you sure your ready to do this? I mean it's a big leap from what we've been doing."

"I know I'm naive Theo, but I'm sure of how I feel about you. And maybe if we didn't have this war, I'd want to take it slowly." Padma approached Theo from behind as he faced his wardrobe and ran her hands from his bare shoulders all the way down his back. He tensed under her touch and breathed deeply. "But I'm growing up quickly in all kinds of ways, and I want this. I want to feel closer to you." She moved closer and rested her forehead between his shoulder blades. "I want to forget about everything else for just one night."

She sighed and tried not to think of the foreboding she constantly felt. Whenever she thought about all the possible ways the future could unfold for her, for Theo, for the wizarding world, she would come to the conclusion that even if they won, some things would most likely end badly. She had hatched this whole plan hoping to have one wonderful night with Theo before it was too late.

Theo turned around and easily scooped Padma up into his arms and moved around the room blowing out the candles before reaching the bed where one lone candle still burned on the nightstand. He set Padma down and climbed in next to her before pulling the covers over them both. They lay facing each other and he draped his arm over her waist holding her close.

The simple act of laying next to Theo, holding each other in bed, was overwhelmingly intimate. Padma wondered if it was this way for all couples, if holding each other every night could wash away all their burdens, make them feel alive and happy. She had never thought about her parents as a 'couple' but suddenly realized that her mom and dad must gain a lot of comfort from each other, being with each other like this every night.

Theo ran his hand down Padma's leg, distracting her from her thoughts. She started giggling again. Theo whispered, "What's so funny?"

"I was just wondering, is that where you'd take me on a date, Madame Puddifoot's?" Padma smiled.

"No, if I took you out, we'd go flying," Theo cracked a smile.

"I'd love that," Padma said as she ran her hand down his chest. "If there was no war. We'd date, and you'd get to know Parvati. She'd disapprove, but eventually really like you. My parents would love you too."

"They would?" Theo questioned, while bringing his hand up to her neck and brushing her sleeve off her shoulder.

"I think so. As long as you had a job my dad would be happy. My mother is wildly romantic, she'd love hearing about how we fell for each other."

Theo kissed her bare shoulder, "Your parents sound nice."

"What would your dad think of me?" Padma asked breathily.

"He'd be furious," Theo said pulling back.

Worried about the distance Theo suddenly put between them, Padma quickly climbed on top of Theo, straddling his waist. "Let's not worry about him then." Padma kissed Theo's chest and then rested her head against his heart. "We would just elope and tell him later."

Theo flipped Padma over and held her down by the waist while she laughed hysterically. "Next thing you'll be talking about moving into the Nott Estate with our four children."

"Four, I was thinking more like one," Padma said out of breath.

"Nah, it's awful being an only child. We should have a bunch," Theo said while nuzzling Padma's neck forcefully, causing an extremely ticklish Padma to squirm uncontrollably.

"Fine, I would have as many little Notts as you like," Padma said as Theo moved up to kiss her on the cheek. "I really do love you, you know," Padma said soberly.

"Yes, I've started to figure that out," Theo said before kissing her soundly. His hands began to explore her body in earnest while Padma clung to him, kissing every patch of skin she could find. He began to slip off her nightgown when suddenly there was a loud knock at the door.

"Nott, wake up, Professor Carrow is here for you."

Padma lay shocked for a moment before disentangling herself from Theo who quickly scrambled out of bed. His demeanor completely transformed from relaxed and happy to tense and moody. "Stay here," he said quickly as he made for the door, "I'll probably be a while." With those few words he opened the door and was suddenly gone.

Padma refused to feel bereft. He would be back, he had said so. She lay in Theo's bed, thinking about all that had happened that night. How she had taken such a bold risk, not just in sneaking into Slytherin (who would ever believe her capable of that?) but in telling Theo about how she felt. And so far, everything had gone so well. Theo had as good as said he loved her back. Who knows, maybe everything could end well after all. Maybe Harry would kill Voldemort in his sleep this very night, and they would all wake up in a free Wizarding world.

After an hour or so, Padma fell asleep huddled under Theo's covers. When she woke up it was dawn. She had to sneak out soon to avoid being caught. Theo was fast asleep on the other side of the bed. Well, things hadn't gone exactly as planned, but they had spent the night together, in a way. Padma got dressed before tapping him on the shoulder, his eyes opened slowly and looked bloodshot.

"I have to go Theo. You look terrible, you should sleep in," Padma said. Theo was just waking, but Padma sensed uneasiness rolling off him. "Don't get up, I'll see you later I guess. Happy birthday Theo." She bent over to give him a quick kiss on the cheek.

Padma had left hesitantly, sensing that something was wrong, but Theo made no move to stop her or say anything.

That day, Ginny had set into motion their plan to vandalize the school with messages in support of Harry. Theo had voiced his disapproval when he accidentally found out something was up, but Padma barely took notice. He often cautioned her against becoming too much of a radical.

That night Padma returned to her room, her adrenaline flowing from the prank they had just pulled off, when she found a note on her bedside table. It read,

IT WAS TIME FOR ME TO FORGET ABOUT YOU.

Padma knew immediately who had sent it and what it meant. She had always found herself working out all the possible things that could happen and paths that she and others might end up taking. It was a rather annoying Ravenclaw habit. And she had figured he might do this someday. But she hadn't expected it to happen like this, without any explanation, after the night they had spent together. She threw the note in the fireplace and sat against the wall stunned.

She managed to hold herself together the next morning, numb and unable to enjoy the success of their prank. But her self-control broke when she saw Ginny, Neville, and Seamus get tortured in front of the entire student body in the Great Hall. She began crying for her friends, but her heart and mind absolutely shattered when Theo stepped up to take his turn. She made eye contact with him and shook her head, but knew it wouldn't make the slightest difference.

Later that morning she found herself laying in another bed that wasn't her own, this time in the arms of her sister who was begging her to explain what was wrong.

Finally Padma found her voice and told Parvati the whole story. At the end she choked out the words, "He's done with me. He's obliviated me right out of his memory."

"Doing that is so difficult it's practically impossible Padma," Parvati said confused.

"Not for him, I know he's done it."

For the rest of the year until Harry finally came back and put an end to the war, Padma became one of the most devoted and reckless soldiers for their rebellion. She spent much of her time training with Seamus. He would often try to convince her to rest after attacking her for hours during their sessions. Padma it seemed had adopted Theo's terseness. All she would ever say, was "again".

Theo pulled her out of her reverie. "What are you thinking about Padma? You drifted off for a minute there."

Padma's lip curled up into an uneven smile. "Nothing worth remembering."