"What?" I asked, dumbstruck.

He smiled. "We had a flexible contract. That's why Mr. Greengrass was over the other day. Before we left for break Astoria told me that she loved someone else and that he wanted a contract with her."

"Who?"

"I have no idea. She wouldn't say. Astoria is one of my best friends, but I never loved her. She was planning to break the contract when she turned 15 anyway."

"Oh."

He smirked. "Aren't you going to ask why?"

"No," I sniffed. "That's not my business."

Grinning, he shrugged. "Well there you have it. I'm not promised to anyone."

I cleared my throat awkwardly. "Cool."

He smirked mischievously. "Cool? Is that all you have to say?"

"What should I say?"

"Well, we can't really say anything until I speak to your father. But for now, let just get to know each other. You're new to the pure blood dating world and I don't want you to commit to me if you're going to change your mind later."

I bit my lip. "Alright."

He leaned over and kissed my cheek. "I need to speak to your father. I don't want him to think we have been deceiving him."

Not knowing how to respond, I sat quietly as he stood and walked out of the room.

Later, I was in my room, reading my Transfiguration book when Owen walked in without knocking.

He stared at me. "You and Nott, huh?"

I shrugged, fighting a smile. "Why do you ask?"

"Dad's all flustered and not sure how to handle the situation."

My eyes narrowed. "Please tell me he didn't send you up here to babysit me," I plead.

"Not exactly," he hedged.

I groaned.

Owen shrugged. "You're 13. He doesn't want you to be too invested."

I laughed. "Theodore said the same thing."

He gave me a strange look. "It's Theodore now, is it?"

"Shouldn't it be?" I returned.

Laughing, he threw his arm around me. "The New Years Eve party is in four days. Do you have something to wear?"

Grinning, I nodded. "I do."

Four days later, mostly filled with Oliver being unbearably overprotective and Blaise being unbearably amused, it was time for the party. On January 2nd we would be returning to Hogwarts. I was nervous about that.

I was wearing an altered dress that had once belonged to my mom. It was a deep midnight blue v-neck with sheer sleeves. It fell just below the knee and I put a silver butterfly clip that Amelia had given me at the end of my braid.

Theodore was looking handsome in his slacks and green button down shirt. He shot me a crooked smile after seeing me and immediately pulled me onto the dance floor.

It felt like something out of a dream. I danced with a few others, but Theo took up most of my time that night. Butterflies settled in my stomach as midnight approached. The countdown started and he pulled me aside.

"Emmeline, are you sure you want to try this?"

I bit my lip, uncertain. Taking a deep breath, I looked up at him, his eyes were pleading. "Yes," I whispered in a strong voice.

His grin lit up the room. Suddenly it was like we were the only two in the room. I faintly heard some scream "Three" as Theodore slowly leaned toward me. He pressed his lips to mine in a gentle kiss. We broke apart, looking around to see everyone cheering at the countdown clock. 12:01.

I felt awkward, which seemed to irk Theodore. "What is it?" He asked.

"Nothing," I insisted, embarrassed.

"Emmeline," he wheedled, in a warning tone. "What's wrong?"

"Really, it's nothing," I said blushing. "It's just that it was my first kiss."

Surprised doesn't cover the look on Theodore's face. "Wait, what?"

I was sure my face was redder than Oliver's quidditch robes. "You heard me."

"Seriously?" He seemed concerned. "You were that hung up on me? And what about Adrian?"

I stepped back. "Hung up on you? What about Adrian?"

"You dated him for like three months and you never kissed?"

I shook my head. "It wasn't because I was hung up on you. Why is it such a big deal?"

He stared at me. "It's a huge deal. I agreed to see where things went and now you're going to have all these expectations."

"Expectations? I don't expect anything from you."

"What does that mean?" He asked, offended.

I scoffed. "You're starting a fight after our first kiss-"

"Your first kiss," he grumbled.

"How is this supposed to work?"

He frowned. "What do you mean?"

"We just agreed to try a relationship and you're already fighting with me. For the record, I'm 13. I don't think not kissing a boy before now makes me weird."

"I just don't get how you never kissed Adrian."

"Because I knew he was hiding something from me."

He paled. "That's it?"

"Does there need to be another reason?"

He rubbed the heel on his palms against his temples. "This is a mess."

I felt tears of hurt welling up in my eyes. I wouldn't let him see me cry. Turning away, I marched out of the room, making a beeline for the patio.

I ran into my twin and a giggling Daphne Greengrass.

"Oh, sorry," I said, trying to appear calm.

"You alright, Em?" Owen asked.

"Fine," I smiled. "I just need some fresh air."

Luckily, Owen knew me well enough to know that I needed to calm down before he would get any answers so he let me escape into the backyard.

I spent a while analyzing everything that had happened. Theodore Nott was a complete jerk, that was a fact. His father was a nice man, from what I saw for a day. Theodore seemed to like me. Or maybe he didn't. Why did him being my first kiss matter? Then a thought struck me. Was he being nice to me at his father's urging? Did his father tell him to try to date me? Horror filled me and I began to cry.

Hearing a rustling, I quickly wiped my tears and turned toward the noise. Theodore sighed when he saw me. "I've been looking for you. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," I said stiffly.

He stared at me for a minute, then stepped toward me. "Owen is worried about you." He offered me his arm. "Let's go inside."

"Are you going to pretend that we're not arguing?"

Frowning, scrunched up his nose. "We're not arguing. This is part of figuring things out."

"No, this is you freaking out because I don't have experience with boys. Why does that bother you? It certainly wasn't because of you or I never would have dated Adrian."

His face fell. "It bothers me," he admitted. "It bothers me because usually when a guy is a girls first anything, the girl gets clingy and expects her first kiss to marry her."

"Are you stupid?" I asked seriously. "I don't expect anything from you."

He bit his lip. "Well, I guess we will see."

"No, we won't." He did a double take. "You don't believe me which means you don't trust me. I can't be with someone who doesn't trust me and I can't trust in return. This isn't going work Nott."

"What?!" He cried, incredulous. "You're ending it already?"

"Yeah," I nodded, tears flowing. "It's done." I shoved past him and ran up to my room. Luckily, I didn't see Nott again over break. Unluckily, break was only another day. The I'd be going back to Hogwarts. Back to Slytherin. Where I'm sure everyone will have heard all about it.

Well shit.