A/N: Ahhh, I am so mad at myself! Once again I procrastinated, and I posted at midnight so this is under 7/4 instead of 7/3. Stupid, stupid, stupid! Arrrgh. I had writer's block this evening, so Theodore offered to help. Thanks, Theodore. (I keep thinking of him as the youngest Chipmunk...you know, Alvin and the Chipmunks? I picture him kinda like my cousin Stephen but he keeps morphing back into the chipmunk. But I digress...) I would have put a kissing scene in but alas, several reasons. A) I cannot write good kissing scenes, though I am practicing, and B) I was rather strapped for time. Stupid guidelines. Had I not had to click on that foolish thing, this would have been up on time! Grrr, now I've started myself of again...ah well. I tend to do this bit later, because it's more efficient if I want to get the foolish thing up before midnight, which, obviously, I failed to do.

MOO: #3

Pairing: Blaise/Theodore. Because he so does not belong with Hermione. I'm sorry, he doesn't. Go read Becki3's stuff if you don't believe me. This fabulous woman proves these lads belong together!

Rating: Eh. G, I suppose...there's actually nothing bad in this one. (GASP)

Dedication: For Kat

Disclaimer: If I did own them, would this be mentioned in the books? Hell yes. I don't, so these boys are background characters. (sigh)

Warning: Slash and one-sided het. (If we must put up warnings for slash, then I say let us put up warnings for het also. It is sooo annoying when you go into a story expecting some nice fluffy slash, then it ends up they're just friends and one of them's after Hermione or Ginny or something improbable like that. Hmph. Stick it to the man, folks! Fight the power! Write more good slash!...I'm rambling, it's 20 minutes past midnight, I reeeeally ought to get to bed now.)

It starts off like any other school day. Theodore Nott sits at his usual place at the Slytherin table, snags two pieces of toast from the platter as it is passed from Draco (who Theodore always sits to the left of) to Blaise (who Theodore always sits across from), spreads exactly half a knife's worth of strawberry jam on it, and eats it while ogling Blaise Zabini and his morning coffee and roll.

Theodore Nott doesn't like coffee. It smells vile. It tastes disgusting. However, should he ever get the chance, Theodore Nott would not mind making an exception for Blaise.

After he finishes his toast, he grabs a massive handful of strawberries from the fruit plate as Greg (who Blaise always sit to the right of) passes it to Blaise.

Theodore Nott likes strawberries. He likes them more than anything, except maybe Blaise, like that time Blaise came in all wet and windblown, tan skin slightly flushed from the cold, snowflakes scattered like stars across his black cloak and hair and eyelashes and laughing harder than anyone Theodore has seen since.

Blaise looks at him for just a moment (one of the only times anyone ever looked at Theodore Nott) and starts to say something, but closes his mouth at the last minute instead and takes a handful of blueberries.

Theodore Nott finishes his strawberries and licks the juice off his fingers (he really really loved strawberries), gets up, and walks towards the Slytherin dorms to collect his belongings for the day.

Blaise makes some excuse and follows shortly after (not that Theodore knows, because as much as Theodore loves watching people he forgets that someone always watches the watchman).

Today, there is someone waiting in the corridor.

Hermione Granger, a girl from Gryffindor, corners Theodore Nott in an alcove.

"Theo, I can't take this any longer," she says wretchedly (because she always calls him Theo in her mind). "I--I've been watching you in secret for ages now, and I think I've fallen in love with you. I know you're a Slytherin and I'm a Gryffindor, but can we still make this work?" she pleads, staring intently at the floor.

Theodore Nott thinks for not even half a second and shakes his head 'no'. Hermione, still looking at the floor, doesn't see. In fact, she's not aware of anything Theodore is doing until he pushes past her and continues down the hallway.

"Wait, Theo! Please wait!" She runs and catches up with him. "Will you at least tell me why we can't be together?"

He turns to her and shakes his head 'no' again. "You don't even know me."

"Yes, yes I do! I've been watching you in secret for so long, how could I not know you?" she moans, looking lovesick and desperate.

Theodore thinks for a minute.

Theodore is a romantic at heart. Not in the girly effeminate Gryffindor roses-and-chocolate ribbons-and-flowers way, but the dreamer poetic Slytherin I-know-what-you're-thinking-because-I-am-too say-exactly-what-you-want-to-hear way.

Theodore Nott wants someone else to be on his mind's wavelength. Hermione isn't.

"Because," he says finally, "You're wrong." He pauses. She leans forward eagerly, hoping for some clue or sign in her favour. "Also," Theodore continues, "You didn't say anything right."

Hermione Granger is, for once in her life, confused. "But that makes no sense!"

Theodore shrugs and smiles a shadow of a smile. "If you knew me, it would." He continues walking, leaving her behind, tears trickling down her face as she searches of something else to say.

Blaise has seen all this, and was nearly growling out loud when Hermione got so close to Theodore--his Theodore (because Blaise has never shared and doesn't intend to start now). He jogs past Hermione and draws level with Theodore.

"Theodore," he starts (because he knows that Theodore likes being called Theodore), "Today, at breakfast…" He holds out a strawberry, his head tilted, his eyes boring into Theodore (because he knows that Theodore knows that Blaise is offering himself, not just the strawberry). "You missed one."

Theodore stares. He looks from the strawberry to Blaise's eyes and back again. He reaches out and takes the strawberry from Blaise, smiles, and gives it back again.

Blaise looks at him quizzically, then nods and eats the strawberry (Theodore loves strawberries as much as he hates coffee).

Theodore's smile turns into a grin, and he leans forward and kisses Blaise, who kisses back.

Hermione is left behind in the corridor to wonder what went on (because Hermione isn't that kind of romantic). The two young men walk together (which is different than side-by-side, Blaise and Theodore know) off to wherever they feel like going.

A/N: Well, that was fun, wasn't it...it was fun to write, at least. :) I love Theodore/Blaise, but I don't think this story did them justice. Seriously, if you like the idea of the pairing check out Becki3. She is awesome and I'm sure she'd love the reviews.

I was also experimenting with the parenthesis like I saw in a Trainspotting fic I really like called Words, but I don't think I pulled it off. Curses. Foiled again.

Want to know what was wrong with Hermione's little speech? Well, I want to explain. First of all, she called him Theo. (Theodore hates that) She's also basically cracking under pressure. (Sign of weakness) Then she didn't look at him. (Blaise can't keep his eyes off Theodore) Then she stuttered. (Blaise never stutters) Then she told him she thought she was in love with him. (You do not think you are in love with someone, you love someone) She pointed out that she was a Gryffindor and he was a Slytherin. (shallow-minded prejudice...) Finally, after all this, she assumes that he likes her by asking if they can 'still' make it work. (combining Theodore's unease around begging with the irritation of being told you like someone when you don't)