A/N
The Houses Competition
Round two
House: Hufflepuff
Student: Year 7
Category: Theme (2000-5000 Words)
Prompt(s): Deception - 2. [Pairing] Draco/Theo
Word count: 2087 (Per Google Docs)

Penpals

After the War ended, several new companies cropped up, one of which was a Wizarding version of Muggle Penpals. You could submit an anonymous, or not - depending on your preference, questionnaire to the company, and they would pair you up with someone of similar interests. It was up to the witch or wizard to write back or not once they received notice of their matches. Some were paired with none, and some ended up with multiple penpals.

Draco had received only two matches. One preferred to remain anonymous, the other- well, Draco wasn't sure why Theo Nott had decided to be upfront with his identity, but he wasn't going to let the opportunity slip through his fingers to talk to the man again. Draco decided to not write to his anonymous penpal unless Theo didn't reply to him.

Draco had been using a disguising quill to keep Theo from analyzing his writing and discovering his identity, but he felt it was time to bring their relationship to the real world instead of just on paper. He wasn't sure of his reception though. His subterfuge in the attempt to keep his identity hidden may, in fact, be the cause of his downfall.

Draco thought about the cause of their abrupt shift in friendship with a sigh.

Draco flinched as the material of his uniform shirt scraped across his newly Marked arm.

"Drake? What happened? Did you let another hippogriff maul you in Care of Magical Creatures?" Theo called out Draco across their shared room. He had apparently been watching Draco favoring his arm but hadn't connected the dots to the fact that it was his left arm that Draco was cradling close to his body.

"What? No! Of course not! I dropped that class, remember? They let that oaf come back to teach. If we had kept Grubbyplank, I would have stayed in the class… but not with the groundskeeper."

Draco shrugged his bag onto his shoulder carefully. He looked around his bed one last time, then turned to face Theo. "You coming?"

"Drake… I want you to tell me the truth."

Draco shifted from foot to foot. "O...kay?"

"Why did you really go home last weekend? Was there really a family emergency?" Theo twisted his hands on the strap of his bag.

Draco kept his head down as he fiddled with the strap of his own bag. "Er, technically… it was a family emergency..."

He cut off as Theo interjected, "You've been Marked!" Theo's voice was venomous in his anger. "Why would you-!" Theo turned his back on Draco and left without another word.

By the time Draco had recovered and followed, Theo refused to speak to him again. Draco stood by and watched, as class, after class, after class, Theo requested partner changes. He kept his mouth shut when Theo went to Professor Snape for a room change as well. If Theo wanted to dismiss him completely, that was his choice.

After six weeks of back and forth letters, Draco finally decided to propose a meet and greet with his penpal.

Draco closed his eyes and breathed deeply. "Just one meeting," he whispered. "One meeting to tell him the truth. To ask him to accept me as I am."

Draco cast a Tempus to see the time. His eyes shot open as he realized he only had an hour to get ready for his date… well, meeting at any rate.

"Tobey," Draco called.

A house elf popped in quietly at the call, "Tobey is being here, Master Draco Malfoy."

"Where did my new set of dress robes end up?"

"The lightses ones? Pretty cream color?"

"Yes yes. The cream and mint robes. I just bought them. Where are they?"

"I gets them for you, Master Draco Malfoy." Tobey popped out of the room.

While Tobey was gone hunting for the robes, Draco went to take a shower. He stood under the cascading water for ten minutes, just thinking about how he could explain himself to Theo… if he would even give him the chance to speak. Draco shook himself and washed quickly, then got out of the shower and used a drying charm.

"Tobey! The robes!"

"Here they is, Master Draco Malfoy!" Tobey popped them in and laid them on the bed carefully. He popped out again, leaving Draco to dress.

Draco cast another Tempus and blanched. He should have left five minutes ago to get there early. Now he would be arriving almost exactly at the designated time.

He grabbed his wand and apparated to the restaurant he had picked for the meeting.

Theo watched the other patrons of the restaurant with a bored look on his face. His penpal had set up this meeting… date… meeting, but had set the reservations under Theo's name to maintain their anonymity. Theo glanced down at the menu again and sighed. For someone that wanted this meeting, they were sure taking their sweet time getting there.

A ruckus at the hostess stand caught his interest. Theo's green eyes narrowed as he saw the cause of the disturbance. Draco Malfoy was in attendance at this restaurant. Theo had spent the better part of the last two years attempting to keep himself set apart from the Death Eaters. He closed his eyes and remembered the moment he found out Draco had been marked by that madman.

"Drake? What happened? Did you let another hippogriff maul you in Care of Magical Creatures?" Theo called out tauntingly to his friend across their shared room. He had seen Draco favoring his arm but hadn't connected the dots to the fact that it was his left arm that Draco was cradling close to his body.

"What? No! Of course not! I dropped that class, remember? They let that oaf come back to teach. If we had kept Grubbyplank, I would have stayed in the class… but not with the groundskeeper."

Draco shrugged his bag onto his shoulder carefully. He looked around his bed one last time, then turned to face Theo. "You coming?"

"Drake… I want you to tell me the truth."

Draco shifted from foot to foot. "O...kay?"

"Why did you really go home last weekend? Was there really a family emergency?" Theo twisted his hands on the strap of his bag as he watched Draco intently.

"Er, technically… it was a family emergency..."

Theo took a step back in horror. "You've been marked!" Theo's voice hissed between clenched teeth. "Why would you-!" Theo turned his back on his friend and left without another word.

By the time Draco had recovered and followed, Theo refused to speak to him again. In their shared classes, Theo sat next to Pansy or Blaise instead of Draco. He even got Goyle to switch rooms with minimal fuss.

Theo was brought back to the present when he saw Draco standing next to his reserved table. "Can I help you?"

"Well," Draco started, wringing his hands together in an uncharacteristic show of nervousness. "I was hoping you'd be okay with me staying for at least the meal before you leave." The words rushed out of Draco's mouth before he realized he had spoken.

Theo picked up his glass and took a sip of water to give himself a moment to think.

Draco stood not so patiently by the table and awaited Theo's response.

Theo set the glass down and frowned lightly, "You are 'Raven'? The person I've been writing to these last few months?"

Draco nodded quickly. "I wanted to be myself. It was easier to lose my name and start fresh than it was to be a Malfoy."

"Uh huh. Fine," Theo waved to the empty seat in front of him. "Let's have it then. You think you can explain everything in just an hour?"

"No," Draco said, even as he sat down. "It would take much longer than an hour to absolve myself of my mistakes when it comes to you."

Draco absently tapped on water and a random meal on his menu to have his order sent to the kitchen.

"All you get is an hour, Draco. Make it count for something." Theo tapped on an Italian inspired dish, then set his menu aside. "I have to be back at work by two."

Draco frowned and tried to get his thoughts in order. He thought he would have more time to try to win Theo over, but apparently, Theo did not want to give him the chance.

"You don't even want to be here, do you? You wouldn't normally agree to an anonymous meeting with someone. Did you know it was me?" Draco reached for his glass that had just materialized on the table.

Theo shook his head. "I did not know it was you, but I had a hunch from reading the letters that you were a reformed Death Eater or a Ministry flunkie. I thought you might have been Blaise, or maybe the odd Weasley brother that works in the Ministry."

"You thought I was a Weasley?" Draco's scandalized voice was a bit louder than he expected.

"Well, you did join the Penpal Service as an anonymous writer. I didn't have much to go off of. Plus you used a disguising quill to keep me from recognizing your handwriting. The amount of deception that you went through to keep me from knowing you are you is ridiculous." Theo calmly started to eat as he ignored Draco's blustering.

"How can you sit there so calmly after everything? You gave up on me without letting me explain why I did what I did," Draco picked at the salad that had appeared in front of him. "I couldn't even finish a sentence before you condemned me without remorse. You switched partners, changed rooms, and stopped interacting with me on any level." Draco took a deep breath before plowing on, "Do you hate me?"

Theo snorted. "To hate you, I would have to know you, would I not?"

"That's just it, though! You do know me! Or you did before you stopped speaking to me. Twelve years of friendship, and you cast me aside because I made a choice to either save my family or have them killed in front of me. I know that your father died in service to the Dark Lord and that you didn't join him because there was no one to drag you in front of him, but don't try to tar me with the same brush as my father and yours! I did not want the Mark. I took it to save Mother."

Draco dropped his fork on his plate and wiped his face with his napkin. "This was obviously a mistake. I see that now. I will just be going."

"Wait-" Theo latched onto Draco's arm as he tried to stand. "I'm sorry about the way I acted, but you have to see it from my angle too."

"What angle is that?" Draco questioned wearily.

"I had just received word that my Father died on a raid, my sister's betrothal arrangement fell through with his death. I became Lord Nott at just sixteen years of age! I had to take over negotiations for my sister, set up the Dowager Vault for my mother, and still try to maintain my placement in school as one of the top five students. When I saw that you had pledged yourself to that- that madman, I had to distance myself. If only to save my sister and mother from having to plan a double funeral."

"Then why didn't you say something," Draco hissed. "All it would have taken was a simple explanation. It took you less than five minutes to tell me all this now. Why couldn't you have done it then? Or why couldn't you have let me tell you then?"

"I was scared. I didn't want to be dragged down by you. I canceled a contract with the Malfoy family when I knew you had the Mark. I had already escaped the clutches of the Dark Pretender. I didn't need you pulling me back in as a fiance."

"Fiance?"

"Yes. Fiance."

"I didn't know we had a contract."

"That would be because I canceled it the second my father's will was read."

Draco shook his head. "I need to think about all this."

Theo glanced at his watch and shrugged. "Suit yourself. I need to get back to work now anyway."

"Will you answer if I call on you?"

Theo arched an eyebrow. "Guess you'll have to wait and see."