Well... hi. Happy hoildays!
I was supposed to work on my longer fanfictions but I had inspiration for some Dapheo content. I have another short story coming for them, hopefully sometime around New Year's Eve.
Enjoy!
It's another morning. The Great Hall is buzzing with morning chatter while some students look like they're about to fall asleep and fall headfirst into their breakfasts. Daphne is more composed than that, but her head is swimming with thoughts about all the things that await her today. She can't help but silently yearn for the closest holiday to reach as soon as possible, and give her some relief from school and homework.
"Since when are these two so close? Does he fancy Astoria?"
Daphne looks up from her morning tea to meet Pansy's gaze before following it to the other side of the Slytherin table. There, Daphne sees her sister talking quietly to Theo, both leaning towards each other, smiling as if no one else exists. Theo doesn't smile often; Daphne can probably count his smiles per day on one hand, as well as the number of people who get to see him smile at them. He has definitely smiled at Tori before, but this interaction looks intimate in a way that is new to her.
Daphne frowns.
Theo and Daphne have known each other since she can remember herself, thanks to their mothers' friendship, and Theo's dad only letting him meet with children from certain families. Astoria, being two years younger, used to be around them a lot before they started Hogwarts. This was interrupted when they started school and Astoria was left at home alone. Daphne, however, always knew that these two got along well and she never thought much of it. She remembers how they started growing closer again once Astoria started Hogwarts, and it seemed perfectly natural to her.
Still, something bothers her when she watches them now.
"No," she says with more confidence than she feels.
Theo liking Astoria?
No.
Right?
Well… it's not impossible but…
No.
He would have told her. He would have had to. They have always been honest with each other, and Merlin knows she had complained to him about guys before. He was there to hear about both her successful and disastrous dates, and would say snarky comments about guys that broke her heart. She remembers him mentioning a few girls over the years, even though nothing ever happened between him and them. Daphne never questioned it; she never thought badly of him, but he has always preferred to be alone. However, maybe that wasn't meant to last forever.
Pansy raises her eyebrows and says, "Then maybe she fancies him. Obviously, I only have eyes for Draco but Nott's alright, I suppose."
Astoria? Liking Theo? Daphne would have known. She would have noticed, at least. Sure, the Greengrass sisters aren't the closest, but this is one of her best friends and her sister, for Merlin's sake. She would have known.
"No," Daphne repeats.
She isn't sure. She wishes she was, but Astoria and Theo always got along in a way that's different from herself and Theo, yet it never quite bothered her. He never came over their house for a different purpose than to see Daphne or to attend one of her mum's social events with his parents. Sure, he and Tori are friends and they're closer now than they were as children, but Daphne never noticed more than friendship there.
"They both have this outsider thing going on for them," Pansy thinks out loud before putting a piece of toast in her mouth. "Could be cute," she adds with a shrug.
Daphne's gaze wanders to the pair again. She can't hear what they're talking about and she has never been so curious about it as she is right now. She has to agree with Pansy; one of the reasons why she never thought twice about Astoria and Theo is that they're different from her friends; more critical, more independent… they're both stand out even when they're with other people. It made sense that they'd get along very well.
Shit.
As seconds pass by, she realizes that Theo doesn't even know she's looking at him. He always knows when she's looking at him. Now, time passes and… nothing. And then he and Astoria both laugh at something the latter said. Theo's smile gets as wide as it can be, his eyes sparkling.
Oh, how strongly the waves of jealousy hit Daphne.
"I'm done," she announces and grabs her bag.
Pansy looks at her with distress, cheeks stuffed with toast. "I'm not," she protests as Daphne stands up.
Daphne risks a glance at Theo, silently wishing that maybe now he'd pay her attention. Nothing. Ugh. "I'll see you in class, then," she replies and leaves, ignoring Pansy's call to finish her tea at least.
Her thoughts are too much for her sit there and watch them together. Theo was always her person. One would even say that out of all the sixth year Slytherins, they're the closest. Maybe they don't spend every moment together, but they know each other the best. Theodore Nott knows all her layers–well, almost all of them–and it has always been like that with him seeing through her and never judging her. Yet maybe she isn't as special as she thought after all.
Her steps are quick and big as she hurries out of the Great Hall.
"Princess."
Her stomach flutters at the familiar greeting from Theo. He catches up with her on their way to ancient runes class, and she almost smiles, almost forgets about this morning. Theo likes to tease her about how some people call her 'the Slytherin Princess', and it's how he addresses her when he wants her attention. She can't deny that she enjoys it every time.
"Theo," Daphne replies, making a point not to meet his gaze.
He hums. "Who are we angry with today?"
She opens her mouth, partly because she's surprised he's caught on so quickly, and partly to defend herself and claim that she isn't angry. Then, he gives her a knowing look and she purses her lips. "Pansy," she lies.
In her defense, there's some truth to it. Pansy planted the seed in Daphne's mind about Theo and Astoria, and now her day is ruined. Pansy is definitely feeling it and has been suspicious of Daphne's bad mood, yet the latter keeps insisting everything's fine.
Deciding to spare him a glance, she asks. "How are you?"
"Ready to fall asleep standing," he smirks. His gaze is warm, making her stomach turn, not that she would admit it out loud. "Crabbe and Goyle were arguing about Quidditch all night. I was about to go sleep in the common room."
Daphne tries to hold back and be on her best behavior, she really does. And she fails. "You seemed perfectly fine to me at breakfast," she replies, in a tone that one might describe as cold.
Theo catches on, of course, even if only to part of what's happening. "Don't be mad at me because of Pansy," he says, his eyebrows pulled together into a planned sad expression.
Instead of replying, she stays quiet and studies him. He does look rather normal; the skin under his eyes hinting at tiredness as usual, his uniform a little wrinkled but otherwise perfectly fine, a few hairs sticking up. Since it's the first time she's giving him a proper look today, she can't help but wonder; has she missed any signs that he might fancy her sister? Is this what Theo looks like in love? Eventually, she decides she can't know. He seems normal yet he's always been softer with her, so his cheerful mood isn't too irregular.
In perfect timing, he gives her the tiniest of smiles, and she knows that this means 'don't be angry with me' without having to say the words. He looks very cute. Fucker.
She needs to put some distance –or anything really– between herself and him. More than anything, she feels vulnerable and Daphne doesn't do vulnerability, not with many people other than him, and at the moment, she hates it.
She settles for huffing as they enter the classroom and focuses on getting to her seat. Theo leaves her alone and takes his place on Pansy's other side. Daphne can feel his gaze on her at least one more time but ignores it, even if a tingling feeling spreads through her body only from knowing he's looking.
Right before class starts, she hears Pansy tell him not too quietly, "I didn't fight with her, I swear!"
By lunch, Daphne dreams solely of getting to the dorms and staying there until the morning. She's done a fine job of avoiding Theo after ancient runes, also because he seems to still be giving her some space. She did have to assure Pansy that she isn't angry with her and that Theo misunderstood her, several times. Still, every once in a while, Pansy studies her and asks, "Are you sure you aren't angry with me?"
One of those times is when they enter the Great Hall to have lunch. 'I'm not, Pans. I promise," she sighs and throws her arm over Pansy's shoulder. She actually does feel a bit better.
"You've been grumpy all day," Pansy replies.
"It's just one of those days, I swear," she lies as they near the Slytherin table. However, she gets distracted when she sees a familiar face going in the opposite direction. and hurries in its direction. "Blaise! Just the person I was looking for."
He glances at her hand on his arm and gives her a questioning look. She tries to smile at him as she pulls him aside so no one can hear them, which makes Blaise look confused. Fortunately, he doesn't object.
When they come to a stop, he raises his eyebrows. "Yes, Daph?"
"Uh…" she planned this question in her head, yet she doesn't really know how to ask it. She licks her lips before saying, "Can you be honest with me?"
Blaise blinks.
"Yes or no?" Daphne asks, poking his chest with her finger.
"Ow!" he protests, smiling in amusement and turning away from her for protection. "Yes, fine. Merlin, don't attack me, your nails are sharp."
Sighing, her gaze wanders to the side to make sure no one they know is close enough to hear her. She doesn't see Theo, and a moment later she realizes Astoria isn't anywhere to be seen either. So much for a good mood, she scowls as she feels a sinking feeling in her stomach.
She rolls her eyes, hating the position she's in, only to turn back to Blaise. Then, she gets serious again. "Do any of you boys fancy Astoria?"
In any other situation, she would have wished to capture his reaction, which makes it seem like he thinks she's lost her mind. Blaise blinks again. "I think Crabbe and Goyle are too afraid of her, and I like Tori but not like that– why–"
"And Theo?" Daphne interrupts him, and then curses herself for probably sounding too urgent.
"Theo?" Blaise echos. He seems to think about it for a moment, and the wair makes her feel worse. "Look, I don't remember anyone mentioning Astoria to me. Does she… like him?"
"It's not about that," Daphne says dismissively, though she is simply too scared to think about it. Blaise doesn't seem convinced. "No, not that she told me about it. Never mind. But… did Theo ever mention anyone at all?"
She's taking a risk here because she knows Blaise can connect the dots and figure out why she's asking. But, Daphne has to know, and it has to be through Blaise. Why? Because Draco, her only other option, has been acting strange recently and probably wouldn't be able to answer her. That and Blaise can keep a secret, while Draco is awful at it since it gives him an excuse to be a dick.
Blaise smirks. "You know that whatever happens in the dormitory doesn't leave the dormitory. Why are we suddenly talking about–"
"Not the point here," she replies, irritated. Then, she softens and crosses her arms over her chest. "I heard something about Theo and Astoria. Well, 'heard' means Pansy said something but you know Pansy, she says whatever."
Blaise nods, yet his smirk widens into a smile. "I see."
Ah, there we go. "Do you?" she asks and tilts her head to the side. He looks so cheeky she wants to slap him. "Fuck off."
"What a dirty mouth from Daphne Greengrass–hey!" He taunts her before jumping away to avoid getting hit. "Someone's nervous–" he adds and laughs when she tries to get him again. Blaise has that rich, deep laugh that she loves hearing most days, yet today isn't one of those days.
He keeps trying to get away from her, making Daphne rush after him. They pass their classmates, who watch them with either amusement (Millicent) or confusion (Pansy). Blaise doesn't seem to be putting too much effort with his long legs, because seconds later Daphne catches him outside of the Great Hall. She drags him to the side, holding him much tighter this time, while he keeps laughing.
"If you say some rubbish to someone–" Daphne points a finger at him, heated with annoyance.
"What should I say, Daph?" he challenges. "That you seem very interested in–"
"Nothing! You'll say nothing, Zabini or I'll destroy you," she says. She is known for being collected and elegant, hence people calling her a princess, and she knows that her behavior is very telling right now, but she can't control it. She knows why she's so bothered, she just refuses to say it. "Please," she adds quietly, sounding more desperate than she wishes to.
Blaise's expression softens for the first time. "You really thought I would spread rumors about you? I thought you knew me better than that," he says and pouts playfully. It makes her relax.
"There's nothing to spread rumors about," she says, tired from this conversation to the point that it's well heard in her voice. "Sorry, but you're being a dick. Since when are you so annoying?"
"Nah, this isn't on me. This is all you," he says, earning himself a glare. Then, he pushes his hands into the pockets of his trousers. "Nott didn't mention anyone, not that it actually means something. And… I might not forget this entire conversation, but I'll ignore it, if you'll go on a date with Goyle. The man's obsessed, he's been talking my ear off about you– you're really are violent today, stop!"
"Not- funny-" Daphne complains and aims for his ribs.
"Joking, joking–I swear on Merlin's beard!" Blaise hurries to say. When she stops, he adds, "Fine, no conditions because I'm a nice person. I thought you knew me better than this, Daphne."
Daphne seems to settle down at his words. "Thank you," she replies.
This was less productive than I was hoping for, she thinks. Blaise says something that she doesn't pay attention to and he leaves after that. She stands there for another moment, wondering what to do, but her stomach grumbles and she gets back into the Great Hall to eat something before her next class.
Theo must have walked in when she didn't notice and he's looking right at her. Ignoring him, she takes a seat on the other side of the table and joins in to listen to whatever Millicent and Pansy are talking about. This lunch is about to feel endless.
As people are gathering their belongings at the end of the DADA class, Daphne feels a tug at her hair. She gives her hair a small shake and continues with what she was doing, too busy thinking about how much homework Snape has assigned them. She doesn't understand why Slytherins like him that much. Sure, he's the head of her house, but he isn't very ni–
Another tug.
Annoyed, she turns around to face the very source; Theo. He's looking right at her, amused, his hand right between them, still holding a curl of her hair. She isn't sure how she feels about him at the moment, or more correctly how convinced she is that there is no reason for her to worry, so she decides to stick with being cold.
"Theodore."
This time, he doesn't acknowledge her annoyance. "What were you talking about with Blaise, Daph?" he asks, his voice quiet.
One would think that he's jealous, but she can hear he's simply curious. She gets her hair out of his hold with a smooth movement. "Nothing."
"You were chasing him," Theo points out.
"He was being annoying," she replies and turns back around to put away her quill.
Theo stays quiet, and she assumes it means he has given up. It makes her feel a mix of relief and disappointment. She lets out a heavy sigh before getting up, about to catch up with Pansy, when she comes to an abrupt stop because Theo is right there, waiting for her. They stare at each other.
"What are you not telling me?" Theo asks after a moment of looking at her.
"Nothing," she shrugs, maybe exaggerating the movement more than she should. She fixes the strap of her bag on her shoulder when she asks. "Are you not telling me something?"
He frowns. "No."
"Great," she purses her lips and walks around him.
"Are you really not going to tell me?" he asks, following her, and she can hear in his voice that it's bothering him.
Good.
She walks out of class, not bothering to stop for him. She isn't ready to have this conversation yet. "He tried to convince me to go on a date with Goyle," Daphne blurts out to change the subject. "Apparently he's very interested. You can ask Blaise about it."
"Goyle?" Theo asks, his voice somewhere between surprised and horrified. He follows her. "Wha– Goyle? Why would Blaise ask you–?"
His inability to form a sentence makes it tempting enough to make her look at him. Theo's expression would make one think she told him she's transferring to Gryffindor. She fights a smirk. "He has good taste, I'll give him that. Any more questions?"
Theo stares again. "Well… you said 'no', right?"
"Yeah, I already have plans," Daphne replies, impressed by how easily she lies.
Silence again. She latches onto the strap of her bag again, just so she has something to do with her hands. They didn't fight, but she can feel tension in the air, yet it could simply be a one sided feeling. She risks a glance at Theo. He isn't looking at her and she can't read his expression anymore; that has always been his speciality with her.
Like before, she can't keep quiet. "Do you have any plans for the weekend?"
"Well, Tori–"
Her heart twists in an unpleasant way and she holds her breath, preparing herself to hear the rest of the sentence.
"Daphne!" A loud voice interrupts them. Pansy comes running towards them. "I need your help."
Pansy gets to them surprisingly fast, and doesn't spare Theo a glance. "Draco doesn't want to study with me tonight, and he's acting stra–"
Unlike her, Daphne does look at him. Theo is watching them, the look in his eyes making her feel like there's a distance between them that keeps growing. "Seems like you two made up," he observes, but there's a hint of accusation in his voice.
"You know how it is," Daphne replies.
"-and he won't tell me why, and–"
After giving her a single nod, Theo adds dryly, "How convenient." He doesn't believe her.
Finally, Pansy snaps to look at him. "Do you mind? This is a private conversation," she asks and raises her eyebrows, hinting that he should leave.
"I'll see you later, Daph," Theo says. She isn't sure if he's angry with her; there is a coldness in his statement but also what seems to her like a promise. She is mostly surprised that he still chooses to use her nickname.
He gives Pansy a dirty look and leaves. Thankfully, Pansy rolls her eyes and keeps talking as soon as he's far enough, stopping Daphne from overthinking about the situation.
It's a few hours later that Daphne is sitting in the library with Blaise and Millicent, studying. Slytherins don't do study groups, but they do like each other's quiet company, and the random sarcastic comments from Blaise helps keep her mind off of things. Or, well, a person.
She knows she can only run away from the situation for so long, but maybe if she's lucky enough, she'll wake up tomorrow and Theo will forget how she behaved today. She doubts it–Theo Nott is too intelligent and observant for that–yet one can hope. Damn him.
Daphne gets up, heading to one of the sections in search of a book. She's tired, but her potions homework is only half done and Merlin knows this class has never come easy for her. She cracks her knuckles as she walks through the aisle, searching. Either way, she promised Pansy to stay out of the dorms so she can try and have a normal conversation with Draco. She doesn't know what that's about, but Daphne mentally prepares herself to find Pansy crying over him being a git.
There's that tug of her hair again. She freezes. Shit.
"Looking for this?" Theo asks and when she turns around, he's holding the very book she was searching for. She doesn't say anything, mostly because she doesn't know what to say. He puts the book away on top of a few random books and leans his back against the shelves. "Did your mood get better?"
"What do you want?" she says instead of answering.
They rarely fight, yet this feels like a fight and Daphne has so little experience in doing it with Theo, that she isn't sure how to navigate the conversation. She has a feeling that they both feel this way.
"I want to know what's going on," Theo says, looking almost worried.
"Nothing, why?" she says defensively.
"Because you've been telling me one thing and then doing the opposite, so you're obviously hiding something," he replies, and for the first time she gets the feeling he might be annoyed with her.
It feels like he's pushing against her walls, and she doesn't like it. "I'm allowed to. Right?" her tone is cold again.
"But it obviously has something to do with me," he shoots back, his voice slightly rising.
There's nothing good she can say. She's grown tired of the lies she told today even before this conversion, and there's nothing else she can say that will help her right now. So, she turns and walks away. To hell with the book, she'll look at Blaise's notes.
"Daph," Theo protests and holds her elbow. Her gaze meets his, and she hates seeing how confused and hurt he is. His eyebrows are drawn together in a silent plea, and it makes her stop.
"You and… Astoria," she says eventually, even though it feels like a struggle to talk about this. She makes sure not to look at him, scared he'll see right through her. "Are you two…?"
"What?" he asks, his voice filled with surprise. She waits to see what else he'll say. "Tori? Who in the world told you that?"
The relief from his response is small, smaller than she expected. He keeps holding onto her, gently, probably scared she'll walk away if he'll let go. She looks at his hand on her instead of meeting his eyes, hoping that it might make things easier.
"You seem close," she shrugs.
Theo chuckles. "That's ridiculous. We're friends. You know that. Why would you even believe something like that?"
His tone irritates her and she glares at him. "Why wouldn't I? Is there a reason why you wouldn't date Astoria? She's pretty, she's smart, she's sharp. And Merlin knows you don't get close to people very often. So, yes, people talk."
He glares back but stays quiet at first. She smirks bitterly; he's probably not saying anything because he knows she's right. "People see what they want to see," he says eventually.
"Alright, then correct me," she challenges him.
"Daphne, you're being ridiculous," Theo replies but her expression remains hard. He looks at her for a few seconds and his face relaxes and becomes almost sad. "You'd really let other people tell you how I feel?"
She wants to say yes. She wants to say that she would because he doesn't tell her how he feels and who he likes, apparently, and she's sure that if he started seeing someone, he would have kept her from it. And it hurts. It burns her insides.
"You're jealous," he says after a moment.
"No, I–" she says immediately, however, there's nothing else she can say, because he's right. Her expression freezes as she looks for other words, anything she can use to protect herself. "You're ridiculous," she manages to say at last, voice weak.
He leans closer to her, watching her tense. "Am I?" he asks. "Or maybe I'm right, and it's why you've been lying to me and running away from me all day. Because I bet that the only reason you've been angry with me today is that I talked to Astoria."
He's so close to her, perhaps closer than he's ever been. This is her one layer that she thought Theo didn't pill off yet, she thought he didn't even know it existed. Daphne herself didn't know it existed until a few months ago, when she suddenly realized that she'd crossed the line between thinking about Theo as a friend, and fancying him. And here he is, he knows her better than anyone, maybe even better than she knows herself.
"You're jealous," he repeats, his brown eyes set on her, making her remember all the times she'd looked at them and felt that familiar flutter inside of her.
Daphne turns her gaze away from him. A part of her is screaming internally because he knows now, and he wasn't supposed to. It took her time to be sure that she fancies him, to stop denying it. Flirting with other guys wasn't as fun anymore. She wanted to see him smiling at her, looking at her, and so much more. But he's Theo, and he never dated anyone and he seemed to behave as normal as always, so she preferred not to ruin it.
Until she failed today.
His hand takes a hold of her chin and he makes her look at him. She tries to glare at him, and it doesn't last for more than one second. He's never looked at her so intensely before and it makes her feel so much against her own will. He's her Theo, and she never wanted to lose him.
"You're so blind, Daph," he says, voice just above a whisper.
His hand slips down from her elbow, almost making her shiver, until it reaches her hand. Then, he's intertwining his fingers with her, and she might as well lose her mind.
"Am I?" she replies.
He nods. Then, he kisses her.
She sees it coming, she isn't a fool and she's kissed boys before, yet she doesn't believe it until she feels his lips on hers. She frees her hand from his hold and wraps both arms around his neck, while he holds her closer. Sometimes, she would dare to let herself dream about this moment, and even though it would usually include a bit of a more romantic setting, this is exactly how she wanted it to be. And having this little teenage dream come true feels better than she had imagined.
Theo pulls away sooner than she'd like him to. "Do you see now?" he asks and nudges her nose with his.
She smiles without thinking. "You're a fool, Theodore Nott,"
"Only for you," he smiles back at her. "About time you'd notice."
Any jealousy, anger, disappointment and sadness that she had felt today seems to vanish. She feels silly for everything that happened as he looks at her, though not entirely, because it has brought answers to her questions. Now, she knows that when Theo Nott is in love he smiles, stays close, looks for excuses to touch you, and even says the things that he holds inside most of the time.
"Maybe you should kiss me more to make it clearer," she says, tilting her head to the side.
"Maybe," Theo chuckles.
He takes too long for her liking, so she puts a hand on the back of his neck and closes the distance between them. The kiss is soft, warm and exciting with how new it is, filling Daphne with greed for more. Oftentimes when she'd fantasize about this moment, she would imagine it'll be a clash that will shake her entire world. It's another thing she was wrong about; it's not a clash, it's two pieces finding each other and fitting together perfectly.
She doesn't know how long the kiss lasts, it feels like forever, and when they pull apart, Theo's amused gaze makes her feel a bit shy. Then, they hear someone chuckling and she sees Blaise standing a few meters away, and looking at them with a smirk. He turns around and leaves, but she catches the way he whispers victoriously "I knew it".
When she looks at Theo, he rolls his eyes in response. "You were very subtle today, weren't you?" he asks.
"Asshole," Daphne says defensively, "Being subtle doesn't get you very far."
Theo smiles, "Doesn't it?" he says. When he sees how she's glaring at him, he adds, "I'm joking."
Then, he kisses her forehead gently. She can't help but smile like a little girl at him, surprised at the new gesture. Theo smiles, too. Everything feels both familiar and new to her in that moment; it's the same boy she always had by her side, the feelings that have been following her for a while now, the warmth in her chest, yet also so many things that are waiting to happen. This one small kiss makes her realize how much could and would happen from now on, and how excited she is for all the moments that they will have. These moments used to be dreams and fantasies, but not anymore.