The evening chill whipped through Dahlia's hair as she glanced up to her beloved moon. Friday had finally rolled around, and she was ecstatic to go to Hogsmeade with Theo.
The week had dragged on slowly in anticipation despite Theo making his presence more well known in her life. He walked her to class when he could, throwing his arm around her lazily. He kissed her incessantly, regardless of where they were. This level of public affection was new to her which gave her quite a thrill. He doted on her, and was wildly confrontational to any boy who glanced in her direction for a moment longer than he deemed polite. They had spent every free moment together taking in the rush of starting something new.
She wondered how long it would take for her father to hear the news. He was a private person who wouldn't be thrilled with the forwardness of her romance, or quite possibly who it was with. She just hoped her father would give him a chance. He was a Slytherin, after all. She hoped he was enough.
Dahlia made her way the North exit of the castle with Eloise. She and Theo had planned to walk to Hogsmeade with her and Xavier, who were also dating. However, they preferred to keep their relationship much more private.
Dahlia couldn't believe in less than twenty-four hours she would be gallivanting across the Hogwarts hillsides with Draco. She kept her plans heavily guarded so Theo wouldn't suspect anything. She knew he would never allow her to do such a thing — to curse herself and potentially risk her life.
Draco, on the other hand, had no qualms about it.
She hoped to tell Theo, eventually. She knew her roommates would worry when she went missing tomorrow, but she also knew they would be even more concerned if they were aware of where she was going and who she was going with. She needed to keep the details close to heart.
"Eloise, I need to trust you with something," she sighed in a serious nature.
Eloise looked at her curiously as she pulled her mittens from her pockets.
"I'm going out tomorrow to search for a way to amplify my Sight. I know you're going to flip out, but I need to do this. I'm firm in my decision."
She waited for Eloise to berate her, but Eloise only looked at her glumly and nodded her head. She wondered if Eloise had come to the same conclusion, as well. She knew her friend had been desperately researching for any clues on her behalf.
She stopped walking and faced Eloise. She pulled out a piece of paper that had been folded several times over. "I'm leaving you with this map. I've enchanted it with my blood so you can see where I am. Please, don't worry about me. I can find my way. I can sense it," she said confidently.
"Please just tell me you are doing this for yourself." Her voice laced with heavy concern. "Theo has to face his own demons. You know that, don't you?" She added quietly.
"It's not for him. Yes, I want to see if I can offer him guidance, but I also need to find a way to better protect myself. I can feel it — darker winds. I think everyone can," she spoke lowly as if the darkness might hear. "It's making me more ill. I'm too weak for it."
Eloise was quiet for a moment. "Fine. Just promise me you'll be safe, and whatever you find, please don't use it until your back. I don't want you to have your first true vision alone." She took Dahlia's hand and squeezed it.
"I promise." Dahlia clutched her friend's fingers and gave her a reassuring smile.
"Hello, love," she heard from behind her.
She felt Theo's arms wrap around her waist. He kissed her cheek and she leaned into him, enjoying his scent in the crisp air. Enjoying being so wildly close to love with everyone around to witness it.
"I've missed you," she chuckled.
"Mhm, I have a surprise for you," he whispered in her ear.
"What is it?" She sang lyrically.
"You'll see soon enough," he winked.
She had long missed this version of Theo that always had a cheeky grin. He grabbed her hand, and they started walking towards Hogsmeade. Eloise and Xavier walked a little way further up.
"Thank you for giving me space," she started quietly. Her serious conversation with Eloise had given her the confidence to address other conversations that required a similar tone. They had been so lost in each other that they hadn't really discussed the matter.
"Dahlia, really, thank you for giving me a chance." He grinned earnestly. He looked at her with adoration as her long hair whipped around her lawlessly.
"I want to be honest with you. It matters to me if you think I'm a bad person. I've had everyone I've loved taken from me because of my legacy. It hasn't been easy." He spoke in an uncharacteristically somber tone.
"I'm starting to understand, and I'm sorry for your losses. Just remember, someone's villain is another's hero. I don't think you are a bad person." She squeezed his hand, easing his worries.
He pulled her close, and they enjoyed the quiet for a moment.
"I wanted to ask you since I know you've been staying with the Malfoys," she muttered.
He shot her a curious glance as if he dreaded where this might go.
"Have you seen my father around?" She glanced at him inquisitively.
"Not that I can remember," he sighed. "Do you want me to be honest with you now?"
She nodded. "Always."
"I've heard your father's name mentioned before in passing. I've only ever heard Draco's father mention him though, so please don't assume the worst. They could simply be on polite terms. Your father and his father are both powerful men, you must remember that."
Her stomach dropped. She could see in his stature that he might be withholding more information, but she didn't want to push. She didn't want to ruin this night, but she would have to talk to her father soon.
"It's alright, love." He kissed her temple.
The wind whipped harder as they approached the village. She leaned into his chest as he changed the subject to lighter topics. They both laughed as she shared what she had heard the younger girls muttering about her, that it was now popular to date Slytherins now.
"You couldn't have realized it sooner?" he teased.
They ended up in the Three Broomsticks where they met up with their larger group of friends, who they huddled around a large table. The warm light was rather inviting. She spotted Amelia sitting in Blaise's lap near the end of the bench. Theo sat down next to Blaise, across from Draco. He pulled her into his lap, as well. The bartender brought them two drinks and Amelia spiked them with liquor.
Theo placed a hand on her lower back and gently moved her hair to the side to kiss her jaw. Draco watched the gesture and took a heavy sip of his own drink. Dahlia noticed Pansy slip her arms around Draco's chest. She looked away, but not before Draco could send her a smirk. It was as if they were speaking their own language, but she was unsure exactly what she was trying to communicate — or if she wanted to communicate with him at all. The tides of their hatred had seemed to lull after their conversation in that horrid closet.
Dahlia had thrown back three drinks when Pansy and Daphne suggested they play a game. They pulled out a deck of cards. Pansy sucked the card to her lips and passed it to Daphne with her mouth. She passed it to Blaise, who dropped it and kissed Amelia. A dreaded thrill curled within Dahlia's gut as she soon realized that she would have to pass it to Draco since they were sitting opposite at the very end of the table.
"Don't worry, Dahlia. I'd rather kiss Mad-Eye Moody than Theo." Amelia grinned.
She laughed, then successfully passed the card to Theo. He sucked on the card to take it from Amelia, then quickly removed it from his own lips when Dahlia leaned in. He cupped the side of her face and pulled her in for a deeper kiss, parting her mouth to slip his tongue inside. She let him kiss her for a minute as their friends hollered. She gripped his jaw and pulled him away from her.
"You cheated!" She turned her face away shyly.
"I don't play fair," he whispered behind her ear.
She took the card from Theo and placed it on her lips. She was livened with liquor, and could now compartmentalize her unclear feelings about Draco.
It's just a game.
Theo had a callous look upon his face.
Draco pulled her arm, leaning into her from across the table in order to get the card from her own lips. She could sense the shift in the air as their friends watched in awe, wide eyed, unable to comprehend that they would ever be willing to risk such close proximity. It collectively dawned — they didn't bicker, shove and nearly strangle one another, or glare and swear because of mutual hatred. It was so much worse.
Dahlia closed her eyes as she eliminated the space between them.
She sensed Draco recoil swiftly. She opened her eyes to discover Pansy had suddenly pulled him back. The action had placed an obvious doubt in her mind that their hatred was true, and instead, it was a sick form of flirtation.
"I want to leave, Draco," Pansy demanded, feigning boredom.
She was visibly upset. Dahlia's cheeks heated, uncomfortable that she had done something nearly wrong. Dahlia flicked the card into Draco's face, mocking the idea that she would let him get so close. Theo pulled her closer to his chest, running a hand through her hair a bit possessively, but not unusual.
"We should all get out of here," Amelia remarked in support of Pansy.
"Come on," Theo called.
They stood and exited the tavern. Theo was leading North with Blaise to an undisclosed location while Amelia linked arms with her a few steps back. Draco was having a tense conversation with Pansy behind them.
"Pansy looked absolutely livid," she stated.
"What happened?" Dahlia whispered.
"She's very jealous. She must have not liked the way Draco looked at you when Theo purposefully kissed you in front of him. He practically went flush. Then the way neither of you resisted the game…" Amelia smirked, enjoying the chaos. "That was the point, didn't you know?"
Dahlia didn't like to think that Theo had only kissed her to get a rise out of Draco. It didn't seem true as Theo often kissed her in such a way, and usually in public.
"That is so delusional. I've pushed him to the point where he has barely resisted murdering me. He's said to my face that I was worthless and stupid," she retorted.
"I'm just telling you what I saw! I've been thinking you should stay away from him, especially after you told me he has the Dark Mark." She paused as if hesitating in thought, then continued.
"Be careful," she whispered. "I've never seen Draco Malfoy not get something he wants. Stay off his radar, Dahlia," she warned.
I'll be stranded in the woods with him by this time tomorrow, Dahlia thought.
"I'm definitely not what he wants," Dahlia scoffed. She leaned her head against her friend's shoulder as they approached a meadow outside of Hogsmeade. The rolling hills dripped in evening dew as they crunched through the gasp. She gasped suddenly with excitement, realizing Theo had brought her to a den of mooncalves.
"Do you like it?" Theo turned, holding his arms wide.
She didn't answer, too overwhelmed with the fresh opportunity to pet one of the creatures. They were odd things, yet terrible cute and furry. They four-legged beasts with long necks and uncanny large eyes. Their coats were a midnight blue, and their legs far too short, making it difficult for them to run very fast.
"How did you know this was here?" She mused, incredulous. Her heart soared to new heights. The little mooncalves utterly bewitched her.
"I have my sources." He smiled smoothly as she squatted down to gentle caress the silky fur of a calf.
He watched her as if he might truly be at peace for a few moments. She never realized how prominent the chaos of his clever mind showed in his expression. She smiled for him, happy she could be his peace.
He brushed the top of her hair with his fingertips. "We can't stay long, love. We have to get back to the castle by curfew."
"Theo, please…"
She tickled a mooncalf's underside beneath a fresh wave of starlight as the clouds parted, freeing the night. She soaked it in, unable to help herself much anymore. The stars crafting in her bones demanded it, to be reunited often. She sighed, humming a melody to the baby mooncalf as to soothe it beneath her gentle touch. She sensed the sweet lullaby from the hushed whispers above. Dahlia laughed softly as the mooncalf purred. It was quickly too quiet, and Dahlia realized that Theo stood frozen behind her. His breathing had come to a halt. Dahlia remained focused on the mooncalf, too scared to turn around.
"Where did you hear that?" Theo asked with little to no warmth in his voice.
Dahlia's stomach filled with nerves. "Oh, I-I'm not sure, actually. It just came to me," she replied in a small voice. Dahlia was telling the truth. The wind blew the words of the stars to her and sometimes she would sing their whispers.
She finally glanced back, looking up to find haunted eyes. His face blank as if she had admitted she was a ghost.
"Is everything okay?" She asked after a long moment. She could tell he was spooked and fighting the urge to step away from her.
"My mother used to sing that melody to me when I was a child," he stated, shaken that she had sung the very one.
He wore a doubtful peculiarity as he peered down upon her. His gaze was a knife grazing her skin. Her hands shook with a bit more anxiety. She had made him suspicious.
"Oh, how strange," she laughed, feigning innocence. She smiled sweetly. This whole evening had turned into a nightmare.
He offered her his hand, helping her stand. She kissed him softly to distract from his own uneasy intuition. It was on target, aimed at her heart.
He's too smart, she thought. He'll piece it together in no time.
"Thank you," she murmured in his ear, her hands still around her neck. His whisky eyes melted and hardened, calculating something new. His eyes landed on her lips. His hand brushed against the back of her own neck in careful adoration, a hunter's second from snatching her skin by the nape. She wondered if the tightening gut knot, to love on this tight-rope, might be the price of being the center of his world. To live in the constant moment when his nails grazed her neck before fully sinking in. "You're welcome."
He's too clever. He knows I'm lying.
"Let's get back," she sighed.
Theo nodded, following her lead as she headed back to the castle. She took his hand and pulled him along, casually desperate to keep him. He smiled, but it didn't meet his eyes. He grew increasingly quiet, which only meant he was thinking much too hard about her secrets.
Her anxiety wrecked itself. His subtle coldness was deafening, wielded carefully. There was nothing worse, and she wanted nothing more than to be back on his pedestal. She wondered if maybe the whispers and the wind had wanted her to share her truth, and that's why they had sung the lullaby. With each step, she convinced herself more of it. Would it be that bad for one more person to know? Was it unfair that Draco already knew? Was it better to confess now?
Be braver. Take a chance or speak up for once. He won't love a liar.
"Do you want to do some more sneaking around tonight?" She asked with a playful grin.
His eyes had been drifting in the distance, but he had snapped his head towards her. He grinned or smirked — it was difficult to tell. Maybe he thought he had won.
"Dahlia, you pain me. It's like you don't even know me," he answered sarcastically, hand over heart. She laughed softly, relief washing through her.
"By all means, lead the way..." He placed his palm against her back and let her step in front of him. He kissed the back of her hair. She wasn't sure what game this was, but there were rules that only he knew. He wouldn't be forthcoming with them, and she would have to learn both in the hard and magnificent ways.
Dahlia took him to the Astronomy Tower, where she had spent most nights over the past few weeks. He entered the storage landing beneath the platform of telescopes like a careful thief, stepping into a stranger's home. He placed his hands in his pockets and assessed how many late hours she might have spent here by the lack of dust.
He finally sighed and took a seat on the bitter edge of the tower like he had come to the conclusion that she was harmless. He glanced below to see how high up they were. She knew heights always made him a bit uncomfortable. The irony that he loved quidditch was not lost.
"Are you going to serenade me with more haunting melodies as we lay under the stars?" He jested, watching her search around the messy, open-aired room for something in particular, throwing star charts in a fit.
She rolled her eyes as she rummaged for proper divining tools. It was the best way to reveal her truest nature. She wanted him to know all of her, then maybe he would love all of her. She was convinced the Fates were sending her a sign. Why else would they carry that melody on the wind to her? Her pulse thrummed in her veins, nerves kicking up. She only trusted the people closest to her with this information, which would now include him. She hadn't told anyone her secret in several years. This couldn't be a mistake. It might one day cost her life if it was. It flashed in her wilder imaginations — the Dark Mark nestling into his skin as the constellations did within hers.
No. Tomorrow she would go out and find a way to help him. She would be stronger, better than her own mother had hoped. She justified her choice further — she would eventually have to tell him anyway in case she had a vision in front of him.
It was right. She trusted him. He wanted her to trust him. He cared. He saw.
She grabbed some enchanted string and sat down next to him, crossing her legs. His face was written with confusion at the ridiculous yarn as if this was what she might consider a good time sneaking around, but she leaned in and kissed him anyway.
He was taken aback by her urgency, but instantly parted his lips for her. He always would — would never deny her. She pulled away too soon though with a bite of his lip. He hissed in response, but said nothing. Theo put his finger to his mouth, then noted she had drawn blood. A wicked smile crossed his face.
"Darling, what are you doing?" He asked, an edgy smile.
She didn't answer. She rubbed the enchanted string in his blood and then held it in her hands. She closed her eyes and leaned her head back to the night sky.
He was silent, watching her almost reverently. She knew she was incandescent within, a beacon when she let it in. A breath away from uncanny.
She pulled the string and focused on it, deciphering the fibers.
"Your birthday is September 1st, yes?"
He nodded curiously, entertaining what he thought were party tricks.
"They altered your timeline when you were 11? 12?"
She knew it was his mother.
"You'll live a longer life than most."
She didn't want to say the exact age.
"You'll have kids."
She smiled and hoped it might be with her, even as psychotic as that was.
"Most curiously, there are broken fibers, as if time has been broken for you."
She looked up at him for an explanation.
He spun the gold ring on his finger and chuckled low. "It's a Time-Turner, Dahlia," he explained.
"Where did you find that?" She whispered in disbelief. They had all been destroyed in the attack within the Ministry earlier this year, the same one that had gotten his father captured.
"I didn't. It was made for me, but I must admit, love, I am quite impressed with your divining. Did you steal another book from the restricted section," he teased as he kissed her temple.
"Not quite," she laughed. She let the air harden. The words were on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn't bring herself to say it. She remembered a small prediction she had written about him, something that would be easier to voice.
"Did you score three goals during practice today?" She asked him.
He threw his head back and laughed loudly. A wild grin graced his features.
"Dahlia, were you secretly stalking me?" He purred, thrilled that she might be as mad and desperate as him.
"No!" She hit him playfully in the shoulder.
He moved back from the ledge to lean against the circular railing that encompassed a giant map of the Milky Way in the center of the room.
"I get it, you're very good at Divination. Honestly, maybe you should kick Trelawney down that bloody ladder and teach the class," he suggested.
She scooted over to him and moved to sit between his legs, willing him to understand. She locked eyes with him, begging the confession to leave her tongue. He brushed the hair from her face, nearly hating the silence but soaking in the sweetness.
"I wanted to give you something," he told her quietly.
She hushed him as she grabbed his rough hands and closed her eyes. She doubted he obeyed hardly anyone, but he let her quiet him. She brought her lips to his cheek where it creased often with laugher, drenched in a prism of moonlight.
"You know sometimes the stars sing to seers," she whispered. She gently pulled away and let the starlight alight the map beneath her skin. It rolled like candied droplets in her shimmering veins as she moved her mouth over his, and exhaled with the stars.
Dahlia let the universe in, lowering her iron walls she had been working so hard to fortify over the past several weeks. The guard she held from her innate nature since her mother passed finally lowered. While the dark premonitions were overwhelming, she focused on the more delightful whispers — the promise that there would always be a tomorrow, both beauty to be found in daylight and starlight. The delicate mumblings that she let guide her further towards a more heavenly place where balance existed. She heard it from the smallest star, the same melody from the meadow, and hummed it.
Theo watched her, bathed in moonlight as her hair danced in the wind that had mysteriously answered her call. The rosiness still in her cheek from the drinks she had earlier made her nearly angelic to him. She was at peace, humming the sickly melody. The darker parts of him wanted to steal her forever if only so no one else may have her. There couldn't be something so sweet allowed to exist in his life. His blackness wouldn't have her light; it shrieked away from it. She made him a fool, ensnared entirely. She was a haunting he would never escape, should he ever lose her. He understood what she was telling him, but he chose to ignore it for a little longer.
He put his thumb on her bottom lip, and her eyes fluttered open. They shone brighter than usual with the promise of a future, with or without him. No , she would have only him.
He pulled her to his chest and kissed her softly to enchant her entirely. He pulled her forward to straddle him further. He lifted her sweater, gripping both sides of her ribs roughly, sinking his nails into her as he leaned over her, kissing up to the center of her sternum between her breasts. It was worship, not lust.
He pulled her sweater over her head and her skin pebbled in the chill, but it made his warmth feel that much sweeter. He was water in a drought. She returned the favor and lifted his shirt off, as well. He welcomed it, skin on skin. To feel him with nothing between them, it was more than warm skin; it was acceptance.
She kissed his neck, breathin him in, as he pulled her tights beneath her skirt down to her knees. She was breathless, skn heating and warmth pooling within her. She pressed her nails into the flesh of his back. His hands roamed all of her, gripping her more harshly as his lust heightened. His mouth moved across every inch of her skin, claiming all of her. She was drowning. Absolutely drowning in him and letting him pull her deeper into the abyss.
He took her jaw in his hand and pulled her face away from the hollow of his neck, then smiled wickedly against her mouth. "Tell me, is this what you think of when you clench your legs together when we're in public?" He grinned in a heady taunt.
Dahlia's mouth fell open. He traced his fingers up her inner thigh before finally slipping his hand beneath her underwear. He waited for her to respond, to tell her she liked this — to be mocked by him.
She nodded as her gaze landed on his whisky-colored eyes; a gold rush. She gasped, his rough hand working in circular motions over her core. She moaned breathlessly, leaning back into his other arm as she tried to move against him. His nails sunk into her hip as he held her still.
"Are you mine?" He whispered, licking, biting her rib cage until it bruised.
He looked up at her, straddling him only because he allowed it. There was no kindness in his eyes, only dominance. She shook her head, defiant yet playful, in response. She was his, and he knew it. She only wanted to push him further.
"No?" He teased, darkening.
His jaw ticked, not taking kindly to her rejection. He inserted another finger inside of her, and she let out another whimper. His mouth fell open, satisfied and smug. He peered at her with a lustful gaze, mouth parted, taking in every reaction she had to give. His hand moved faster in steady motions.
She needed more of him. She removed her bra and brought her chest to his own, pressing her skin against his. It was entirely sweet and all too depraved with that look on his face, like he might ask her to crawl. At this angle she could feel his hard length beneath her. He groaned as she brushed against it. He placed his hand at the nape of her neck and pulled her hair back, exposing vulnerable skin where her heartbeat was most exposed.
"Is that what you want, love?" He mocked, pushing her down against him, breathing into her mouth roughly.
She was giving entirely too much of herself and not enough.
She spoke into his mouth. "Yes," she whispered, almost hatefully that he had taken her heart with a wicked smile.
He grinned, running a hand through her long hair and scratching down her bare back. He bit into the skin of her breast and moved his fingers within her in a steady rhythm. Sensation ran wildly, and she struggled to find even breaths.
He cupped her face. "Ask me for it," he commanded cruelly as he felt her body tense, a moment away.
She desperately wanted release, but wouldn't submit in such a way.
"Please," she panted.
"It's simple Dahlia," he muttered, slowing and torturing her.
She pressed her lips in a tight line, wanting to refuse him. He was relentless, peering into her starry eyes like he was inevitable. She leaned her forehead against his.
He bit his own lip, hard, reopening the healing wound where she had taken his blood.
"My heart is yours," he whispered, before bringing his mouth upon hers. The copper stained her lips, easing all hesitation. She nodded rapidly, eyes wide and asking.
He pulled her close and kissed her jaw, then pulled at her bottom lip. He kept going, going until she came undone for him. She breathed unsteady into him, and he took it. All of her. It was too much. Too much for him to have, this and her secrets too. He let her move against his palm until she was satisfied, trembling. This wasn't a game. She didn't want to play anymore. This was too good to risk a loss.
He placed featherlight kisses on her lips and moved her beneath him. She nodded her head once more, and he removed her tights fully along with her short skirt. He paused for a moment, if only to gaze upon her in nothing but her underwear beneath him. He thought she might disappear, and he was suddenly unsure if he was worthy of this — of her.
"Come to me," she whispered, smiling like she was the secret in his poison. She pulled him down to her and kissed him all too gently, yet it was what he needed. He removed the last of her clothing, then removed the rest of his. She sat up on her elbows as her eyes met his, watching him move in her starlight. He gripped the back of her neck gently, blocking her from it entirely as he leaned over her, encasing her in his shadow, placing a loving kiss on the base of her neck. It was a softness, a vulnerability, yet explored.
Before she could become too anxious, he thrusted into her. She inhaled sharply, arching as she felt herself stretch to him.
He was afraid to move roughly in case she didn't like it. He held back, choosing to embrace the part of him that wanted to be better for her. They breathed into each other, finding a soft place where their hearts might beat together. He sat back to watch how she moved beneath him. He had been holding her hand when she brought his finger to her mouth. She grinned wickedly with a giggle before she sucked on it, taking his signet ring into her mouth.
Match lit.
He gripped the side of her thighs harshly, pulled her forward and off her elbows. She fell flat on her back with a gasp. He slammed into her, much harder, but she writhed beneath him. He placed her hands over her head, gripping her fingers too tightly. She moaned for him, breathless.
How could she love him, love this? It was nearly brutal how he moved in and out of her, yet she came undone again. He couldn't help himself from imagining how many times she had let someone else take this from her. She was light, yet she liked this. Craved his rough hands breaking her body. She pulled him into a kiss and ran her fingers through his hair. Her moan from her own high and how she had clawed her nails down his back while he crashed deeper would be his own undoing.
"Look at me," he demanded.
She lifted her head, exhaling with the breath of stars in her eyes as he unleashed himself, finally. He grasped her jaw, coming for her. He cursed her name, and she smiled. He knew then. He knew it right then, peering into her unsuspecting eyes, that he might die for this. She removed his hand from her face, kissing his knuckles gently until his pulse lessened. She knew he craved cruelty, but he needed affection. He rubbed his rough hands down the side of her face. She smiled against his lips again.
"You're beautiful. It's fucking devastating."
He finally pulled away from her, sitting next to her. Dahlia sat up, wishing he would lay with her, but he seemed tense. She pulled her knees to her chest as she suddenly felt the need for modesty.
"I should have known," Theo said bleakly, shaking his head. Terrified.
Dahlia stilled. That those were the first words he had spoken after he had finished, taken her fully, simply stung. It sent her numb, shattering this moment for her irreparably.
She didn't know what to say as they dressed themselves. She knew what he was referring to — I should have known . It burned in her mind too soon, still feeling the absence of him from inside her.
"I can help you," she finally whispered. She tried to hide any signs of desperation. She placed her forehead against his bare chest as he moved to slip his shirt back on. He stopped and embraced her without hesitation with a heavy sigh.
He stilled as he processed her words. His thoughts ran far away, in circles. Is that what Dahlia assumed? That he needed her help?
He didn't need anyone. He had been perfectly fine alone. He had chosen to let her into his life, even if he didn't always feel that he was good enough for hers.
He knew what he had to do. Draco's word echoed in his mind as he finally made sense of them. The Dark Lord would very much like to have a seer of his own. He wished desperately that she had never told him. Some secrets were better kept. Why didn't she know this? Never show all your cards.
He didn't answer as he didn't want her help. All he had wanted was her unattainable heart and her all-consuming love. He took out a thin, golden chain from his pocket and opened her palm that was fisted against his chest. He placed it there.
She took it from his hands; s a mesmerizing necklace that had a small multi-colored stone that refracted brilliantly in the moonlight. She said nothing, inspecting it closely.
"Amelia said I only gave you a dusty old journal, but you are worthy of jewels. So, I wanted to give you this charmed necklace. You'll most likely need it now. It'll protect you — even from me."
Unable to read his masked expression, anxiety swallowed Dahlia whole. Terror took hold that he was about to cast her away; that he would say she was no longer perfect enough for him. He would wreck her, then run.
"I'm not afraid of you," she mumbled meekly.
"Your face in the library — you were frightened." He put his hands in his pockets. Dahlia noted that he no longer wanted to hold her, so she wrapped her own arms around her and stepped back. Rejection rubbed itself against her heart until it became raw.
He added hesitantly, "you should be afraid, you know that, right? I know I promised that I would never harm you, but I can't guarantee your safety." He shook his head and smiled sadly at her. His eyes met the bareness of his forearm, knowing the clock was ticking.
"Theo, I'm not asking for your aid. I don't think you've fully grasped what I might be capable of. I won't need it. I'm asking for you to simply accept me."
He furrowed his brow. She could see his thoughts swirling madly in the center of his eyes. Then he moved as if his chaos demanded it. He pulled his shirt over his head.
"I can help guide you through this," she whispered in a rush as she took a step forward to stop him.
Don't leave. She couldn't say it.
"I won't have your blood on my hands," he said firmly. He broke her gaze as he looked to the night sky. He sighed, and the reality of what he was saying, what he was doing, dawned on him, and he needed to touch her again.
He paced forward and took her hands. He held them to his chest. "Dahlia, you don't see me as I am. And when time reveals the truth to you, I can guarantee that you won't like what I will have to become."
The unfortunate truth was that he had been born awful. He was no one's hero and everyone's worst imagination. He was born into chaos and thrived amongst it. He would be wicked to save her, to protect her, but she wouldn't want him after it was all said and done.
Her slow smile ripped through his heart. "Time is only but a simple construct to me. It swirls around me in no linear motion. Can't you understand?"
He sighed, "you shouldn't have told me."
He dropped her hands. He might as well have dropped her heart. She was speechless, obliterated by the coldness of his care.
She stepped away, rage burning, igniting something terribly vengeful that she could no longer bottle.
"So what was this then?" She pointed between them, voice breaking and shaking, and entirely unlike her.
His eyes widened and narrowed, seeing a rare shade of her.
She held back her tears and steadied her voice. He would be the last person to know she shed a tear over him.
"Did you know? In that moment before you fucked me, is that when you decided to cut ties?"
She let her viciousness be known. She could be equally as brutal, ruthless. "Because that's fucked. You're fucked in the head, Theo."
"I was just con-" he said softly, whiplashed and seeing her differently.
"Was it to claim me? To spite Draco?" She pushed his chest lightly, but he didn't budge. His eyes lighting cruelly at her accusation. He grabbed her hands as she pushed him again, but she ripped them away and shook off his touch.
She continued, aware she had struck low.
"You think I'm oblivious to the tension between you two over me? You don't think Amelia whispers in my ear what's going on? I wanted to be with you despite knowing that your best friend is a Death Eater, and so is your fucking father."
To think he wouldn't accept her secrets, after she was so willing to accept him. She could tell he was becoming more irate and biting his tongue. He wouldn't even look at her.
"No. Dahlia, it was never like that," he answered, dangerously calm.
He was careful not to divulge any more details until he could calculate if she knew that Draco's father wanted him to get close to her because he potentially knew she was a seer, as well. He didn't think that was information Amelia was privy to, but who knows what Blaise told her in confidence.
He tightened his jaw, forcing silence as she pushed him to admit to himself that he had been jealous of Draco. Of course, he was jealous. He knew there was a fine line between hatred and lust for Draco, and the way they moved around each other seemed so fucking effortless.
"That's all you have to say?" Her voice quivered. The inability for him to answer her amongst the tense silence was too much for her to endure.
"Get out," she spat. This was her space of solace, even if he had just ruined it.
Theo noticed her voice break. He stepped closer to her. He wanted nothing more to keep her for all of time, but he knew that was selfish, and for once he wasn't sure if he wanted to be. He memorized her face — how the stars prayed upon her skin, how her wide eyes hid no emotion. Her jaw was set in disappointment, but that was nothing new to him.
He tried to commit to memory the last moment she had smiled.
"Keep your distance, please, for your own good," he stated sternly with finality. He kissed her forehead with ease despite her attempt to shove him away.
He said nothing more as he walked through the door of the Astronomy Tower, a casualness in his step as if this wasn't a wrecking. As if he hadn't just committed a heist.
Dahlia couldn't bare the loneliness. She chased after him but he had vanished into thin air. She collapsed onto the stairs of the Astronomy Tower. No one was around, it was a safe place to let her tears flow freely.
She didn't know if she would be alright this time. She had never felt someone cut her so deep before. It was a deeper rejection as she had revealed her truest self she rarely shared, then he had changed his mind. Not wanted her at all.
She stood up with urgency and ran back into the main room of the tower. She opened drawers and ripped through cabinets in a desperate search for any means of divining to bring him back to her — take back her secret. Nothing possible of moving back time except for the ring upon his finger, and he had what he wanted.
She kicked the wooden desk filled with useless junk that had nothing to offer her. There was nothing useful, and she was too weak —still worthless as a seer. She slid to the floor as the wind dried her tears, as it had for so many nights.
The moon dimmed, and the stars wept for her too.
