DADA OWL, Task #2: Write about someone who hasn't prepared enough, or hasn't prepared at all. Again, this could be anything, as long as it fills the requirement. The lack of preparation needs to negatively affect your character in some way.

Extra Prompts:
(word) Schedule
(plot point) The doorbell rings
(object) A pile of clean clothes

Chosen Character: Theodore Nott

Theodore Nott

No matter what Theo did, everything in his life went smoothly for him. When he'd started Hogwarts, he'd been eager to learn everything that he could and always gave his all. However, as the years went on, Theo realised that he could get away with doing less and still get the results he wanted.

In his third year, Theo forgot to study for his potions exam, yet he still managed to pass with an Exceeds Expectations. In his fourth year, Theo had managed to take Daphne Greengrass to the Yule Ball—something that had led to the relationship that had lasted through Hogwarts, the war, and come out stronger on the other side—after asking her as a dare. In his fifth year, when Professor Umbridge had given the Slytherins special treatment, Theo had passed all of his exams after only studying for half of them.

In the end, he'd completely given up trying to give his all and left everything to chance, something that almost always worked in his favour. That was why Theo was completely calm as he walked around his apartment, even though today was one of the biggest days of his life.

Theo looked down at his schedule (if you could call it that—the schedule consisted of exactly two things) and, after a glance at the clock, decided it was probably time to get started on item one: 'get ready', so that's what he did. Theo made himself a cup of tea and took it through to the bathroom with him to drink as he enjoyed a leisurely bath.

It was as he was getting out of the bath that everything started going wrong. Theo had just wrapped his towel around his waist when the doorbell rang. He froze, hoping he'd imagined it, but seconds later the doorbell rang again.

"Shit!"

During the Battle of Hogwarts, Theo had fought against the Death Eaters in defence of Hogwarts. After the war had ended, he fled his home and took up residence in a Muggle apartment to hide from his father. Only three people knew where Theo lived, and two of them knew not to visit him today so it could only be Daphne.

Or maybe it's a neighbour asking for some milk, he thought to himself hopefully.

As much as Theo tried to calm himself, he couldn't stop his heart from accelerating and his head from overthinking everything that could go wrong. He raced out of the bathroom as the doorbell rang for a third time to his bedroom, grabbing the first thing in the pile of clean clothes balanced on top of his dresser and sending the rest tumbling to the ground.

He shoved his legs into jeans that were slightly too tight before realising he hadn't put on any underwear and taking them off again.

"Theo!" he heard Daphne shout through the front door, followed by a series of knocks.

He got dressed, swapping his jeans for ones that fit and rushed to the door, stopping only to throw his towel back into the bathroom.

"Honestly, Theo. I know you don't want anyone to know where you're living, but could you at least set the wards to allow certain people? It's humiliating standing out in the hallway like a Muggle," Daphne said as soon as Theo opened the door.

In typical Daphne style, she hadn't noticed his slightly flushed cheeks and erratic heartbeat. Instead, she started by complaining about him living in a Muggle neighbourhood, as always.

"Hi," she continued. "How are you?"

Daphne leaned up and kissed the side of Theo's mouth. Sometimes, Theo had no idea why he put up with Daphne's self-centredness, but as soon as he looked at her, he felt his heart flutter and his brain turn to mush. He knew that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her.

"I… er… I'm fine, I just… I was in the bath when you… excuse me a minute," Theo stuttered, unable to find his words as he backed out of the hall into his bedroom.

"Fuck," he whispered to himself as soon as he closed the door.

He could feel himself start to sweat, his shirt sticking uncomfortably to his back. The dawning realisation of how wrong tonight was already going was starting to send Theo into a panic.

What Theo had originally wanted to do was to make the place romantic and for everything to be perfect, but Daphne had turned up early. He had no idea how that was going to happen now—the whole apartment was supposed to be decorated and he hadn't even started cooking.

He slapped himself to try and get his head back in the game.

"I am Theodore Nott. I am stronger than this," he whispered to himself, but it did little to ease his racing heart or stop the steady stream of sweat from trickling down his back.

He picked up the pile of clothes he'd knocked over earlier and pulled out a shirt to change into before setting them back on top of his dresser. He'd just changed into it, making sure to mop the sweat from his back as best he could with the old shirt first, when there was a knock on his door.

"Theo?" Daphne called. "Is everything alright? You ran off so quickly."

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'll be out in a minute." Theo hoped his voice was calm enough to not make her worry.

When Theo eventually calmed down enough, he headed into the living room where Daphne was perched on the sofa with her arms crossed and a sour look on her face.

"Theodore, if you're going to break up with me, you have probably picked the worst day poss—"

"What?" he asked. "I'm not… why would you think that?"

"You looked terrified when I showed up, you ran away as soon as you let me in, and you sounded like you were about to cry when I asked if you were okay. What else was I supposed to think?"

Theo looked at Daphne, really looked at her. She had tears in her eyes and her fists were tightly clenched in the fabric of the black dress she was wearing. He sat next to her and rested a hand on her knee in reassurance.

"Daph, is everything okay?"

She sniffled. "Yes, it's fine. I just… I don't want to talk about it. Why did you ask me over?"

"I…" Theo faltered. He wasn't sure how to explain, but seeing how upset she was, Theo decided to tell her everything. "It wasn't supposed to be like this. I wanted everything to be perfect. I was going to decorate the apartment and cook a nice dinner and nothing has gone right for me today. I don't want to back out now, though."

Theo took a deep breath before sliding off the sofa onto one knee and taking one of Daphne's hands in his own.

"Daphne, I love you more than anyone I've ever met. Will you do me the honour of being my wife?"

Theo looked up at Daphne. Her face was a mixture of horror and confusion, the tears in her eyes threatening to spill once more.

"Theo, where's the ring?"

Theo dropped his head into his hands. "I fucked up."

"What have you done now?" Blaise asked, sliding a glass of Firewhisky over to Theo.

"I asked Daphne to marry me."

"Are you getting cold feet already?" Draco asked with a laugh.

"She said no."

A silence settled over the table as everyone took the statement in.

"Fuck, man. What happened?" Draco asked, patting Theo reassuringly on the back.

"First, she thought I was going to break up with her, and then I forgot the ring. How do I forget to buy a damn ring?" Theo took a large swig of his drink. "She didn't break up with me, though, so at least I didn't fuck up too much."

"And this all happened today?" Blaise asked. There was something akin to annoyance in Blaise's voice, but Theo couldn't place what it was exactly.

He nodded.

"Are you a fucking moron?" Blaise roared.

"Blaise, mate, what's your problem?" Draco asked, still trying to comfort Theo.

"My problem is that this idiot never thinks ahead, never plans anything, and asked Daphne to marry him on the anniversary of her mother's death!"

"I… what?" Theo asked.

"But she's not dead," Draco said, stating the obvious.

Blaise sighed. "She doesn't like to talk about it, but I thought she'd have told you… Her mother died when Daphne was five. I'm not sure on all the details, just that there was a rather gruesome accident and Daphne witnessed it. Her father remarried less than a year later, so Daphne got used to calling her step-mother 'Mother'. It's still a sensitive issue for her, so today probably wasn't the best day to ask, mate."

"Dammit," Theo exclaimed, banging his fist on the table. "I'm planning on marrying the girl, shouldn't I at least know about these things?"

"It's alright, mate. She'll get over it," Draco told him. "Just make sure you do it bigger and better next time."

Theo let out a soft chuckle. "Yeah, next time definitely needs more preparation… and a ring."

Word Count: 1,541.

This is for:

Pokemon Trading Card – Fennekin;
(Bronze) Write about someone sweating in an uncomfortable place of your choice.

Chocolate Frog Card – Albert Boot;
(Bonus) Write about someone who can't seem to do anything right.

The Valentine-Making Station;
Honeybee Sticker — Write about a couple that lived through a war.
Glitter — Write about a big mess that difficult to clean up.