A/N: Huge thanks to my beta Rachael.

Ch. 36 Mask

'The truth. It is a beautiful and terrible thing, and should therefore be treated with great caution' - Albus Dumbledore

Theo

"So, out of all the girls at Hogwarts you could start an illicit affair with, why Padma Patil, Daphne?"

Daphne smiled knowingly.

"It was the Book Burning when I first noticed her properly," Daphne said with a fondness that Theo rarely heard. "The way she walked across that courtyard and refused to burn her book…the way she defied Amycus. She was so brave. She set a precedent , Theo, for the rest of them - to resist. So I secretly took some lotuses to the hospital wing late one evening when she was under that curse, just as a gesture. I thought I'd hidden all traces of me on those flowers and wasn't going to pursue anything, but Padma did an advanced Revelio on them and she found out I'd given them to her. She came to find me - to thank me - and things went from there and…"

"Got complicated?" Theo finished, remembering the night in autumn term when he had come back to the Slytherin common room after his detention with Parvati and how Daphne had smelt of healing potions and flowers he couldn't name. Lotuses.

"Complicated, yes. But also... good . Great. She's amazing, Theo. So... wise . She knows all this stuff about -" Daphne lowered her voice even though there wasn't a soul around. "Muggle history and philosophy. It's fascinating. Stuff my parents don't know and that we've never been taught."

"So, you decided to get involved with a Muggle-loving, Potter-supporting, blood traitor who managed to get on the wrong side of the Carrows on the second day of the school year?" Theo's voice was amused rather than reproachful because, again, he hated to be hypocritical.

"I guess that's not a bad description. You would know. After all, she's like her twin in more ways than looks."

Theo halted mid stride and glared at Daphne. "How did you know? I - I've tried to be careful."

"You have. You've been really careful," Daphne reassured. "But I watch you, Theo. Because I care. I saw how you came back from that detention with blood on you. I knew something was up, that you wouldn't have beaten up a sixth year Hufflepuff. I remembered that Parvati Patil had detention with Slughorn that same evening. I noticed your… exceptional …interest in the blood traitor wounds. I observed how you manipulated a conversation with Flint and Blaise so they ended up daring you to go and sit at the Gryffindor breakfast table next to her. I've noticed the way you watch her…And the whole debacle with their Potter party - they'd been warned, they knew we were coming. And I think only you could have warned them, Theo."

Theo's thoughts were reeling. He prided himself on his subtlety, successfully using wiliness and cunning when needed. He'd developed these traits for survival. He was a true Slytherin in that respect, at least. But Daphne had just listed so many occasions when it seemed his subtlety had slipped.

Apparently his anxiety was noticeable, because Daphne continued to reassure him. "I'm the only one that's noticed, Theo. Don't worry, you've kept your cool, pure-blood-elitist mask on with everyone else."

Theo was prevented from saying anything in reply because just then Goyle and Millie came hurrying around the corner, looks of urgency on their faces.

"The blood traitors are out - they're vandalising the castle!" Millie exclaimed. "Come on, I saw some back at the Entrance Hall."

"I'm gonna call the rest of the I.S.!" Goyle declared, as he pushed past them. "Shitty little scumsuckers!" And he ran down the corridor in the direction of the Slytherin common room.

Parvati

At least they had managed to write most of the graffiti before everything went to shit.

A huge plaque had been unveiled at the start of Spring Term, just over the entrance to the school, with the simple but ominous words: Magic is Might . On the Saturday night of the graffiti mission, Hannah levitated herself up to reach the plaque, whilst Parvati and Terry kept watch. When the Hufflepuff finally finished re-arranging the letters, disappearing some and conjuring others, the sign read instead:

Remember Cedric, who was so much more than a spare.

Hannah had just descended back to the ground when suddenly they were beset by at least three members of the I.S., who had all come from the direction in which Terry was meant to be keeping watch.

Paravti ran. She hastily fired protective spells, whilst dodging offensive ones, forcefully shoving past someone in the dark, not knowing whether they were friend or foe. It was a chaos of yells and shouts and streaming jets of red and white light. Parvati rounded a corner and ran straight into something - someone - who grabbed her and pulled her into a nearby classroom, hauling her across the room to the shadows at the other side.

"What the fuck -" but Theo Nott's angry voice was stopped by Parvati crashing her lips onto his. She hadn't seen him since the night of the forest party and that had been too long and being in such close proximity to him now, with both his hands gripping her waist - she couldn't not get closer to him - as close as she possibly could. Theo responded, pressing his mouth to hers for a long delicious moment before pulling away " - are you guys doing now?" The aggression in his voice was a contrast to the feel of his lips.

"Just a little -" Parvati cupped her hand under his jaw, pulling him to her again in another kiss, finishing by biting down softly on his lower lip. Theo stifled a moan in response. " - Re-decorating," Parvati finished, a coy smile hinting at the edges of her lips.

She tried to concentrate on Theo whilst at the same time communicating with Padma through her Legilimency Bond - telling her what had happened and that she was currently hiding in a classroom. It wasn't a lie, just not the whole truth, Parvati justified to herself.

"To what end?" Theo asked as Parvati's hands traveled down his chest. His voice seemed to soften in response to her touch and he reached out, running his fingers through her hair, slowly and tenderly gathering it together in a bunch. "What's that going to achieve?" He pulled her hair back gently, and the feel of it sent an electric shiver ripple through her.

"It's a morale booster -" she interrupted herself to let out a whimper as Theo tilted her head to the side and leaned forward to kiss her neck "- People are scared - it gives - hmm - people hope when - when - someone stands up to them." Parvati had to concentrate hard on echoing Neville's words as Theo moved from kissing to sucking to biting the soft skin of her neck.

Gotcha Par. We've just finished in the Astronomy Tower - she heard Padma's voice in her mind just as someone turned the handle of the classroom door, and she remembered with dismay that both she and Theo had forgotten to lock it or conjure any protective charms at all.

"Get down," Theo hissed urgently. She sank to her knees as Theo positioned himself between her and the door.

"Nott - mate. Who've you got there?" Parvati recognised the voice of Crabbe. Or Goyle. No, it was definitely Crabbe. She was fairly confident she was unidentifiable to him, being crouched in the shadows.

"I just caught her skulking round the corridors," Theo responded indifferently. Parvati could see him twisting his head to address Crabbe, whilst he kept his hand lightly gripped in her hair. "She's being very obliging in return for me not handing her to the Carrows."

"Who is she?"

"Does it matter?" Theo said warningly. "Just some blood traitor slut. And you're kind of ruining the moment for me here." Parvati sensed Crabbe hesitate in the doorway. "I'm not sharing her Crabbe - she's mine. Now off you pop, go on." Theo made a shooing motion with his head. Parvati's eyes were at the level of Theo's crotch - at the level of a bulge in his trousers. She had an absurd urge to reach her hand out and touch him there, which she dismissed and chided herself for, remembering the precarious situation she was in.

"Just...after what you said about Flint, man...I didn't think you'd..." Crabbe's voice is hesitant, confused even.

"This is going to be way more pleasant for her than what the Carrows would have in store. Now piss off." Theo's voice had an edge to it that Parvati was starting to recognise - an angry, warning edge.

"Sure," Crabbe said and Parvati heard him turn and leave the room.

Theo immediately released her and she rose to her feet. Without exchanging a word, they both started conjuring various protective charms on the room. When they finally finished, they turned and looked at each other, silent for a few moments.

"Thank you," Parvati said eventually.

"Don't thank me. It's like I said - you give me favours in return for information. Or helping you and your mates out of whatever shit you've got yourself into. That's all this is, Patil."

Parvati looked at Theo's broad shoulders, at the dark wave of hair falling over his forehead and she was so tempted to launch herself at him in a punishing kiss and act out their charade again. But she fought the urge. Because she also felt frustrated. Frustrated at his scornful tone and frustrated at them both for dancing around all the words that had been unsaid between them for too long.

"You're really going to keep doing this?" Parvati asked.

"Keep doing what?" Theo's voice was harsh but wary.

"This pretence? Not admit what this really is?"

"What is this really ?" Typical Slytherin sneering polluted Theo's voice but Parvati ignored it, because she could also hear the genuine question underlying his tone. She moved closer to him, a knowing half-smile on her lips, and placed a hand lightly on his chest.

"I know what you're doing Theo, with your cruel words and that cold mask you wear," she said slowly, softly. "You're trying to push me away. Well..." She slid her hand down his chest, stilling it at his waist, looping her fingers lightly around his belt buckle as she leaned towards him and kissed him gently on the cheek. She sensed him tense, as if he were fighting back the urge to respond. "I'm not going anywhere. Because I know it's just that - a mask. I know you don't mean any of it - I've seen through it - I saw through it that first evening in the potions cupboard, because you let your guard down then more than you know, Theo. And I've seen through it so many times since..."

She moved her hand down further, cupping it at his groin, feeling him instantly harden underneath her palm and heard him let out a stifled grown. Then, his breath uneven, he reached down, grabbed hold of her wrist and pushed her hand away from him. "Stop."

Parvati wasn't sure if he was asking her to stop her words or her touch. "Theo, it's okay to feel sometimes. To feel something other than lust or anger."

He glared at her and continued to hold her hand away from him as if it were a weapon, as if he were unsure what would happen if she got too close again.

"Emotions are dangerous, Patil," he whispered eventually, although the usual conviction in his voice was lost.

"What?! That's ridiculous! If you don't feel anything, how do you know what to do about something? How to act ?"

"You can't make decisions based on feelings, you have to make decisions based on thinking . Logic. Emotions can cloud and confuse and distract," Theo argued.

"So why did you just drag me in here, and save me from Crabbe?"

"Because if I saved you from being caught, you'd have to repay me in some way, and I'm quite enjoying our exchanges."

"That's bullshit - if that's what you really wanted, you'd just take it - like your mate Flint did with Lavender!" The words were out before Parvati could stop them.

Theo tensed, and his mask slipped. He frowned. "He's not my mate," he said bitterly, releasing Parvati's wrist and rubbing his face in a resigned fashion. "I'm sorry about what happened to her."

Theo's reaction was enough for Parvati to know that Flint had, after all, remembered what he'd done and Theo somehow knew too. At the thought of Flint telling his housemates about attacking Lavender - brazen and shameless - anger bubbled up in her again, although she didn't know if it was at Theo, or at Flint, or at the whole shitty situation they were in.

"Do you know how crap I feel about that? I should have been with her - if I'd been with her maybe - but I was with you - sucking Slytherin cock whilst she was - " Parvati couldn't even bring herself to say the words. She felt tears stinging her eyes and she hit out at Theo's chest. "Do you know how awful that makes me feel? The only consolation I have is that this - this thing between us," - shove - "It - it might actually mean something!" - hit - "But then you go about again acting as if it's still nothing !"

Parvati went still, her shoulders sinking as if in defeat, her hand slackening on his chest and Theo, who'd stood passive as Parvati had pushed and shoved at him, reached out and clasped his hands gently around her forearms, holding them to him.

"It's not your fault," His voice was soft but earnest, his eyes digging into hers, as if imploring her to believe him. "Even if you hadn't been with me, there's no guarantee you would have been with her. And even if you had, you don't know if you could have stopped it. It's not your fault," he repeated.

"Crabbe just said 'after what you said about Flint'. What did he mean?" Parvati asked, freeing one of her hands to brush away a tear that had rolled down her cheek. Theo was frowning at her crying as if it personally offended him.

"Flint was bragging about it in the common room," Theo explained bitterly. "Only to the guys. I don't think any of the girls know. And I - I kind of lost it..." Theo trailed off.

"You threw Salazar's coat of arms at him?" Parvati prompted, and despite herself, she found herself smiling at the thought of it.

Theo half-smiled but there was sadness in his eyes. "Yeah. Then I asked, rather forcefully, for him not to go near Brown again, not to look at her, or speak to her, or speak about her...I'm pretty sure he won't. And that no one else will."

"Thank you," Parvati said. "What did the other Slytherins think of that?"

Theo shrugged, a wry smile on his lips. "They might think I have a thing for Lavender Brown. But...that shouldn't matter. Mostly they'd do anything to avoid triggering my rage again...so I'm pretty sure they'll keep their trap's shut about the whole thing."

There was a pause and Parvati said bitterly. "It shouldn't be silenced though. It should be Flint that's ashamed of what he did. He should be castrated . Can't something be done about him?" But even as she asked it, Parvati knew the answer.

"Like what? The Carrows would probably give him a medal if they found out what he'd done. They'd probably incorporate it into their disciplinary regime!"

"I know," Parvati said resignedly.

A silence stretched between them that was leaden with a kind of melancholy. To break it, Parvati leaned towards Theo again and brushed her lips against his. He responded instantly, deepening the kiss and reaching out to wrap his arms around her waist. Parvati pushed her body into his, wanting to feel as much of him against her as possible. He groaned into her mouth, then abruptly pulled himself away from her.

"I - I can't. We can't - we can't keep doing this," He sounded tormented. "You know what I stand for. You saw what I was like that night. I'm not good for you -"

"That wasn't you, though," Parvati insisted, reaching out to caress his face again, peppering kisses on his cheek, his jawline, down to his neck.

"Yes...yes, it was," Theo murmured.

"That was the wolf," Parvati mumbled into the hollow just above his collar bone.

Theo tensed and Parvati slowly looked up to meet his eyes. "How do you know?" his voice was hard again.

"I'm not stupid Theo, you said so yourself all those months ago, remember?" Parvati said, and she saw something relax behind his irises.

"No one can know."

"You must know by now I'm good at keeping secrets," Parvati said through a knowing smile as she reached out and started pulling at his shirt to untuck it. Then they were kissing hungrily again, Theo's hands greedily travelling all around Parvati's body, setting off waves of arousal that swept through her -

- Par - we've been caught! Where are you guys? Did you get back to your common room okay? - Padma's voice cried out urgently in Parvati's mind.

"Stop - wait," Parvati said, stilling Theo's hands with her own and looking away from him, concentrating on Padma. Theo complied, stepping back from her and frowning in concern.

Who? Who's been caught? Parvati asked Padma.

Just me and Neville - I think the others got away!

"Neville and Padma - they've been caught," Parvati murmured, her heart speeding up in alarm.

"How do you know?" she was dimly aware of Theo asking.

They're taking us to the Carrows now.

"Fuck. They're going to the Carrows," Parvati repeated, not aware she was speaking out loud

"You can - you have a Legilimency Bond with your twin?"

At his words, Parvati's head jerked back towards Theo, startled, realising how much, in her slight panic, she'd given way. Of course studious, intelligent Theodore Nott would have heard of Legilimency bonds, would have pieced together her odd behaviour with magical mind theory and worked it out.

"No one can know Theo -" she began warningly.

"Of course. You must know by now I'm good at keeping secrets," he said, echoing her earlier words back at her.

Then he drew her to him and held her tightly. It felt different to their previous embraces: warm and affectionate rather than raw and sexual.

"Come on," he said, taking her hand. "I'll help you get back to Gryffindor Tower."

A/N: Gah! I had planned on more smut in this chapter but it seemed that Parvati and Theo insisted on having a long conversation that didn't involve dirty talk and them jumping each other's bones for once...so sorry, blame them...I'm sure they'll be getting jiggy with it again soon enough though...

As ever, follows/favs/reviews/thoughts and questions are cherished and treasured. Watcha thinking? Go on, tell me! ;o)