The first snowflakes of a winter storm befell Hogwarts.
Dahlia watched the flurries chase each other as they rode the wind outside the imposing windows of the Great Hall.
"Dahlia! Focus!" Harry exclaimed.
He snapped his fingers in front of her face to garner her attention.
"Sorry," she groaned.
They were supposed to be studying for their potions midterm, which was tomorrow. She had lounged around in bed with Theo for half the weekend, and then she had spent the rest cramming for her other exams. Theo had slept over again last night, keeping her up until the late hours as he whispered in her ear, insisting he wanted to sleep her in bed every night from now on. He wouldn't reveal his reasoning, but he didn't have to.
She had once again met Draco in a dream last night despite Theo's tight grip on her physical form. It had been her dreamland this time, which was quite refreshing.
She recognized the American arcade from the small beach town her mother loved so much. She and Draco had spent hours in their dream, which might explain why she felt less than stellar today. She had challenged him on pin-ball machines, and he had beat her in car-racing games. She had even forced him to play the new Dance Revolution machine against his will, and he had been better than she had expected.
After they had grown tired of games, they walked along the broken pavement that was covered in sand and defiant weeds that grew between the cracks. She led him to an old ice cream shop that she remembered. She had never thought to imagine him so handsome before. He had worn an easy smile, his skin lightly tanned once more and accentuated by the light blue shirt he wore, unbuttoned lazily. The shade unveiled a similar color behind the grey in his eyes. She had never even thought to look for it. He laughed, shoving her off the pavement and into oncoming bike lanes as they strolled to get ice cream.
He had broken the glass window to unlock the door since the shop had been closed. "The lengths I go to for you," he had muttered beneath his breath, wiping the blood from his knuckles.
"Here," she whispered, grabbing some napkins for his bleeding hand. "I stole these for you, so we're even."
He snatched them from her with an incredulous glare.
She had stolen a tub of chocolate ice cream out of the refrigerated case and brought it to the shores with them below the boardwalk. They had eaten out of the tub with stolen plastic spoons as they watched the sunrise in peaceful silence.
"Are you happy?" He had asked, turning to her with annoyance.
She had nodded, digging her toes farther into the warm beach.
"Good," was all he had replied before tossing a fistful of sand in her direction.
"Pain in my arse," he had sighed.
Their truce was going well, but it was still new. She was on the edge of her seat, waiting for it all to fall apart once more. Her intuition told her these dreams wouldn't last forever. It was all borrowed time. One day, she might truly have to let him go, and he would have to let her. For now, she let his brazen smile be the mural of her walls. He wore it too well, and it was quickly becoming one of her favorite things.
She couldn't help it, and she glanced up at Draco from where she sat with the Gryffindors. He sat across the hall at the Slytherin table. The snowflakes formed a halo above him as they danced behind his silver hair in the window.
He must have sensed her gaze as he looked up to meet her eyes with a blank expression. She thought he might have grinned had she not been sitting with Harry. He looked back down without so much as an eye roll or sneer. It felt like a permission he had granted her — to share looks and speak with him publicly without quaking their fragile ground in the waking world. Their truce was bleeding out beyond dreams.
Harry followed her gaze and rolled his eyes at her.
Dahlia caught his quick glance of disgust.
"Whatever you're about to say, please don't." She exhaled heavily, a daring sigh.
"I saw their fight," he muttered instead. "Draco and Theodore — it sure seemed like there was something going on between you two." He nodded up towards Draco.
"There isn't," Dahlia replied in lyrical hush. "Draco scared me the other night. I hurt myself, apparating away from him. Theo was livid about it, and Theo also happens to be endearingly deranged and protective. The end."
"Why was he trying to scare you in the first place?" Harry whispered, perplexed.
"You should know better than anyone that Draco can be extraordinarily cruel, and his bullying can be without reason," she half-lied.
He narrowed his eyes, contemplating if this was the truth or her truth. She wondered how close he was to putting all the pieces together, Draco's allegiance and her Divine sight, but she didn't dare ask.
He only flipped the page of his potions textbook so she could copy more of his notes. They sat in momentary silence as he glared at Draco.
Dahlia heard a familiar voice and glanced to see Lucas strolling over to the Slytherin table loudly. He was quite beloved amongst his peers. He was rather attractive, a great quidditch player, and was so charismatic he could start a conversation with the rudest of castle ghosts.
"Can I ask you something? And you'll keep it between the two of us?" Harry leaned closer and muttered.
Dahlia looked up from her notebook and grinned slowly. Her eyes sparkled, and she nodded quickly. She placed her hand under her cheek as she readied herself for top-notch gossip.
"Do you know if Juliet is dating Lucas Leerweather?"
He didn't look over in his direction, but she couldn't stop herself. Lucas raised an eyebrow at her and winked as she must have caught his attention.
"Don't look! Fucking hell, Dahlia," Harry sighed, pulling her face back to him and away from Lucas's direction.
She shook her head at Harry, unbothered.
"She's been oddly secretive about it since they first met at the beginning of the year. I don't think they've defined anything, but they were together at a party recently."
Dahlia shrugged. She left out that Lucas had spent the night in Juliet's bed on several occasions, including this weekend.
"So I've heard." There was an edge in his tone.
"You miss her, Harry?" She elbowed him playfully with a teasing grin.
He shied away from her touch as if it might burn him. Dahlia was convinced she had grown on him, perhaps in a parasitic fashion against his will, but still growth.
"I'm afraid I'm relieved more than anything… I'm quite terrified of Ravenclaw women, actually," he mumbled.
Dahlia couldn't hold back her laughter.
Draco shot her an annoyed glance from across the room. She watched his grey eyes trail higher behind her, and his features twisted from a friendly annoyance into a cold mask.
She turned to find Theo flipping Draco off as he swaggered up behind her seat. His face softened as she spotted him, and he changed the indecent gesture to blow a kiss at Draco. Dahlia remained expressionless, not wanting either to read into a reaction.
Theo gently rubbed her back in greeting.
"Hello, Harry," Theo exclaimed loudly and lyrically in a loaded voice. "I've come to steal Dahlia away from your depressing presence."
He grinned like a devil as he sat on the bench and leaned sideways against the table. He tilted his head back to smile at a group of squealing young girls with adorable first crushes. Dahlia couldn't resist. He was flush from the cold and out of uniform. She leaned closer and took his always fidgeting hand. She kissed his cheek. She kept his hand in hers, unusually naked of his rings.
He spared her a surprised, loving glance as if, after all this time, she might still surprise him, maybe even make him nervous. She knew how much he loved when she initiated their public displays of affection. They were rare, few and far between moments as he always gravitated to her first.
"You feel good about the exam tomorrow?" Harry asked her, ignoring Theo altogether.
She nodded and actually meant it. She wasn't sure how much more information she could absorb at this point.
Harry sighed, "Alright. You're officially on your own."
Dahlia slammed her book shut. "I'll see you in class, Harry!" She exclaimed as she stood quickly.
Theo grabbed her books from the table as he made to leave with her.
"You're such a doll, Potter," Theo winked.
Dahlia slapped his chest at his snide, sarcastic remark.
Theo threw his arm over her shoulder as they began walking out of the Great Hall.
"Darling, I meant it! Your grades are stellar now! And if that has anything to do with Harry Twatter, then I am forever grateful!" He chuckled as Dahlia rolled her eyes and shoved him more harshly than usual.
He took her hand and led her down one of the quieter stone staircases in the castle. It was lit only by candlelight as the storm raged on outside, dimming the daylight. He took a seat on the stone stairs and brought her down next to him. He leaned his forearms against his legs as he rubbed his hands together nervously.
"I wanted to talk to you..."
His voice trailed off as he traded his usual playfulness for a more serious demeanor. He looked older, his cheekbones more hollowed, when he wore somberness. An anxious pit formed in her stomach.
"Is something wrong?" She asked.
He was quiet for a moment as he determined the best way to phrase his words.
Her anxiety only heightened. He must have read her weariness as he reached for her hand. He rubbed it gently within his own.
"Nothing is wrong." He shook his head. "I just, I know where my brother is..."
He stared at her intently.
Theo was calculated with his statement. He honored Alex's wishes and didn't say that he had met with him in the Forbidden Forest. He waited for Dahlia to respond, but her face was only ridden with more anxiety.
"I want you to meet him." He stated as if it might be a question.
Dahlia's stomach twisted. She realized his brother very well may be the man from her vision if he was only now reappearing. Timing was critical to the Fates above, and she knew when to heed their warnings.
"I think your brother may have been in a vision I had," she blurted in an unclear mumble.
"My brother? Alexander?" He clarified skeptically.
Theo sharpened his eyes. His features were so much more vicious when they weren't filled with love or desire. It was a reminder of who he really was or who the world had painted him to be.
She continued, "I told Blaise, and he told me not to worry about it — that the man I described was most likely not your brother. This man, though, Theo," she breathed in disbelief.
"He looked just like you. He had me locked away. I was chained to the floor." She steadied her voice as much as possible to downplay what she had seen.
He broke their shared gaze and shook his head, firmly denying the accusation.
"That's impossible. My brother doesn't serve the Dark Lord." He doubled down. "He's always been infuriatingly righteous," he muttered more to himself.
Dahlia quieted as she sensed Theo's headstrong nature lingering.
"Why didn't you tell me? When did this happen?" His tone rose to something stony.
"Not too long ago. I didn't think it was anything to worry about, and I didn't want to put the thought in your mind. I sense countless things every day, Theo."
She shook her head at him remorsefully. "But if he's suddenly reappearing, it seems like it might not only be a coincidence," she added with pained hesitation.
His eyes shot back to her like daggers. He fought the unkindness in his bones.
"It's not him." He pushed his sleeves up and bounced his knee. "I want to know about every single vision you have. Alright, Dahlia?"
He rubbed his eyes as if stressed by a small betrayal. Dahlia felt the tension straining. He was becoming unruly.
"I love you. I just want to help you," he muttered. His muscles were coiled tightly beneath his long-sleeve shirt. Dahlia could only imagine how his thoughts swirled right now.
Dahlia nodded. "I love you too."
She rubbed his back to soothe his fraying nerves.
"He'll be around for the holidays if that's alright?" Theo asked quietly. He placed a kiss on her temple. "I think he'll love you."
Dahlia had finally written to her father that she would be spending Christmas with Theo. She didn't plan on returning home anytime soon.
She smiled. "That's more than fine with me," she lied with a pit in her stomach.
He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into his lap with a wide grin. They sat and watched the snow fall quietly as he played with her hair.
"What do you want to do after we graduate?" She asked lightly.
She had been thinking about the future more and more.
He shot her a baffled glance. It was such a simple question that couples had probably asked each other on first dates. They were far from normal, but he knew she often dreamed about what they might be like if they were. He found it endearing as he had no wish for such normalcy. He wanted greatness for them.
Dahlia reveled in the beautiful gleam of his whisky eyes.
The answer was obvious to him. "Not a Death Eater," he snorted, chuckling darkly.
She pushed softly against his chest in jest.
"Seriously! Tell me!" She ran her fingers through his hair.
"I guess I could be anything I wished. An Auror, a healer, a crime lord. I know you're quite jealous of my grades." He gave her a cocky grin.
She shook her head. He was right. It was absolutely irritating how he never had to study for anything but still excelled in his classes.
"What about you?" He asked, bringing her closer on his lap to shield her from the winter chill.
"I want to swindle people with my psychic powers. Build a fortune so I can lie around by the pool all day," she swooned dramatically.
He laughed softly. "Impossible. You're a horrible liar, Dahlia."
He smiled, revealing his dimples. Whether he meant that she was lying about what she wanted for her life or if she would never be a good enough liar to con people out of money, she wasn't sure.
"I could be content to lounge around your pool, I suppose." She shrugged playfully.
"Sorry, love. Only Notts are allowed to lounge by my pool," he fired back with a cheeky grin.
She held her breath, uncertain of the game he was playing and what his quip might be in search of. He kept his charming smile as his eyes danced with challenge.
"I'll have to make you one first," he added smoothly.
A dare for her to give him her hand one day.
"We can dream," she simply replied with a heavy breath as she relaxed deeper into his arms.
Theo wished it might be so simple. He held her there, afraid to let her go. Their future would be much dicier, and their days may very well be numbered. He just needed to switch the clocks before they were out of time.
—
The next day, Dahlia tapped her foot against the side of the desk as she reread her notes. She had arrived early to Advanced Potions.
"Calm down, Aldair," Draco murmured smoothly behind her as he passed.
His breath was warm on her ear. His touch graced her back in a comforting manner as he spoke. He set down his book bag at the station next to her. She looked up as she felt gravity bend to the Fate's strategic disposition. A homecoming settled within her starry bones.
"Do you ever feel it?" She wondered aloud to him.
He stared at her with peculiarity. "Feel what?" He questioned.
Before she could respond, Pansy billowed past them and gripped Draco's jaw to pull his attention away from her. She kissed him in a rapid display of lust and possession.
Dahlia looked away quickly and stared intensely at her notebook. She tried to numb her aching heart to it. The worst part of her knew that he loved her madly, more than Pansy. He only surrendered and lowered his battered exterior for her. She hated herself for feeling so envious when she shouldn't feel anything for him to begin with. They were attempting to be friends now, and she made the right choice.
Theo was the right choice , she reminded herself. She repeated this daily as a mantra.
She loved Theo. She couldn't imagine a world where she no longer woke up and thought of him as soon as her eyes fluttered open. She was with him regardless of how the tides turned, even if he scorched the earth to the ground.
But sometimes Draco couldn't help himself and stole a touch from her as he had just now. It tested her will. The choice she had made to put Draco's yielded heart on the shelf only made her feel more guilty that she cared if Pansy kissed Draco. It was only fair. She blinked a little too hard as her thoughts spiraled.
"Don't," he shoved her lightly, "touch me like that." He scolded her in a lethal tone.
Dahlia looked anywhere but in their direction. She was watching the door when Amelia and Theo entered the classroom. He gravitated towards her immediately.
"I'm going to study quickly," Amelia announced to him as she headed over to her desk. "Good luck, Dahlia!" She smiled.
Theo enveloped her in his arms, and she found the hollow of his neck. It was the sweet moment when the sun eclipsed the moon as they reached for each other against the odds.
"You sleep well?" He asked innocently enough, completely ignoring Draco's close proximity.
"Yes," she nodded with an anxious sigh.
It was clear she wasn't completely confident in her exam.
"Don't worry. I don't think you'll need to pass Advanced Potions to lounge around the Italian coast anyway — so no pressure." He grinned. Theo watched her eyes light as he reminded her they could always make a run for it and live out their innocent fantasies.
"I almost forgot we were planning to be lazy thieves," she whispered as she shared a loving grin with him.
He brought his lips to hers for a quick kiss that hopefully softened her nerves.
"Pass, or I'll punish you," he winked as he walked over to his own station.
Their exam started shortly after. It comprised of brewing two different potions simultaneously. In order to test their long-term potion-making skills, they needed to finish brewing the Amortentia potion they had started last week since the love potion required nine days to brew. They also needed to present a euphoria elixir, which could be quickly prepared. Dahlia gathered all the ingredients required for both potions and laid them out across her station. She brought her half-made Amortentia from the storage closet to her desk, setting it over a low flame.
Draco eyed her out of his periphery and watched her decide nervously how to proceed. He focused on their golden-twined bond and reached within himself to clutch it gently. He thought of what it might feel like to run his fingertips down her bare back and whisper folktales into her temples so he could hush her anxious thoughts. He brushed against their tether softly with the image in his mind. He watched her shoulders relax as he half-paid attention to his own exam.
Dahlia stilled as she felt a peaceful rush of serenity trickle down her spine. It surged foreignly from her heart and pumped through her veins to even the smallest capillaries. It was a warm hug and the promise that everything would be fine.
She didn't shy away from their bond for once, as she wanted to take whatever grace it could offer her in this moment. She let it take hold. She found herself stepping closer to Draco as she embraced it. She tugged back on the invisible string to say thank you with little to no effort at all.
He coughed suddenly, reaching for his chest as if he might have had a seizing heart palpitation. She froze in horror as she observed him choking at the sensation.
"Are you okay?" She mumbled.
"Too...hard," he rasped.
"I'm sorry," she murmured awkwardly.
He eventually recovered as he pretended he had only choked on thin air, to his embarrassment. She laughed at his expense once he had fully recuperated, dropping her Ashwinder Eggs into her love potion.
She felt eyes upon her and glanced over at Theo. He watched them interact with his usual flippant demeanor. They had been together for long enough now that she could read his emotions as easily as she could read the wind. A homicidal urge lingered just below his bored facade. Her apology on Draco's behalf was most likely the trigger, she deduced.
She felt Draco begin to warm her heart with a sugared hush once again.
She couldn't help but smile as her potion began to steam. She opted for a drop of blood instead of her hair so the potion would be more potent. She sliced her finger on the page of her notebook, then let her blood drip into her cauldron from her paper cut. She sucked the blood off her finger to stop it from bleeding as she stared at Theo.
He grinned wickedly as his rage cooled.
The cauldron suddenly cried out a ghastly howl. Professor Slughorn raced over to assess the damage. Instead, he only looked within the cauldron in amazement. The brew showed off a perfect pearlescent hue that refracted the sunlight from the small windows.
"Oh, it's marvelous!" He exclaimed.
He tilted the cauldron so he might evaluate the viscosity. It whispered a thousand languages as it moved. Dahlia knew it had been enhanced with her mythical blood.
"Oh-oh. Extra credit, my dear! I've never seen anything like this," he shouted enthusiastically. "Mr. Malfoy, come!" He demanded.
"What do you smell?" Slughorn asked.
Draco sighed. "Moonflowers, sweet wisteria, fresh pages, warm vanilla, something — I don't know, metallic?" he winced as he realized the onyx had forged itself into her very blood and bones. It was more than skin deep.
Dahlia blushed as he openly admitted he loved her if others were observant enough to piece it together. She watched out of the corner of her eye as Pansy secretly smelled herself.
"And you, my dear?" He nodded sharply toward Dahlia as he inspected Draco's own finished potion.
She leaned over the cauldron and inhaled slowly. The scent enveloped her in the finest silks as she smelled all of her favorite things: fresh fruit from her mother's planted trees, the rich aroma of the sleeping forest she used to play in as a child, and the sweet danger of the blackest night for which the stars might paint themselves across in the brightest fashion.
Her heart sank. She had wished and wanted to smell Theo's familiar scent.
The gods could be so awful, she thought as she breathed in Draco's lovely air.
He had truly been born, made, for her.
"The moss upon the damp forest floor and smoky wood crackling in a fireplace. Maybe neroli, honey, and clove?" She answered with confidence.
Draco snickered next to her as she shot him a glare. He noticed how her body had stiffened, then glanced at Theo from across the room. He only shook his head with a smug smile as he watched her lie through her teeth.
—
The wind howled violently amid the winter storm, blowing Dahlia's cloak amiss.
She ignored it, continuing to hum to herself as she strolled down the bustling hallways to her Defense Against the Dark Arts class. It had been a long week, and this was her last exam before the holiday. She had passed her Advanced Potions midterm with flying colors and had managed to do exceptionally well on her Charms, Divination, and Ancient Artifacts exams.
Theo had left her a bouquet of peonies on her bed the night she had passed her potions exam. He knew how stressed she had been. Despite his lack of effort, he had also done well on all of his tests. They had planned to meet tonight since they had both been busier than usual as they wrapped things up for the holiday.
She arrived at the classroom and removed her enchanted golden acorns from her ears. She looked out the large windows as the snow continued to fall. She hadn't seen the stars in days.
Someone violently pulled down the hood of her robe. She turned to find Draco smirking at her. She smiled back as he took his usual seat at the desk in the row next to her.
"Where are you going for the holiday?" She asked.
"My mother wants to leave for Paris Christmas morning," he replied.
"That's lovely," she answered, dumping her book bag on her desk as she searched in frustration for a quill. Draco curled his lip in disgust as snacks, cosmetics, crumbs, and wrappers exploded across her desk. He shook his head, not commenting, luckily.
"Where are the infamous Aldairs planning to spend their holiday this year? Spain? The Canary Islands?" He asked as he held his hands behind his head to stretch with a cheeky grin.
"I'm afraid Witch Weekly will have no sightings to report," she answered, rolling her eyes. "I'm staying with Theo for the holiday."
The devil himself swaggered into the classroom and took his usual seat at the desk with Dahlia. He looked at her with a raised brow as he heard her reply and wondered who she was speaking with. His demeanor changed when he heard Draco's voice carrying in her direction.
"Oh, I'm sure Rita Skeeter will find that equally fascinating for her gossip column," Draco grinned sarcastically.
She snorted and shook her head. "How delightful for me."
She sat down, turning her attention away from him.
"Hi, baby," she whispered.
Theo instinctively threw his arm around her seat. He bounced his knee and looked forward with his usual callous air about him. He didn't spare her a glance, which was unusual.
Dahlia leaned into him and placed her hand on his thigh to steady his raging storm of irritation. He still wouldn't meet her eyes. Her stomach flipped as she realized just how unhappy he was with her.
There truly had been nothing between her and Draco lately. He had settled for something less. She had missed him so much she wasn't sure she could start ignoring him now, but she couldn't handle the consequences Theo dealt her either.
Dahlia pulled out her ace, unable to bear Theo's rage when it was directed at her. She shifted in her seat so her skirt would lift a bit higher in his direction. She leaned further back and placed her hand in her lap, knowing how it would encourage his wicked thoughts. She let her other hand linger a little too long on his inner thigh before clasping her hands between her crossed legs.
Theo stilled and looked down.
"Do you need something, Dahlia?" His tone was snide.
"I broke my quill," she murmured, close enough for him to feel the heat of her breath on his neck.
He kept his vicious glare forward, only turning enough to wave his hand over her quill. It began to repair itself. The spell was simple, taught in their first year.
"Was that too hard for you?" He finally brought his glare in her direction as he spoke in a patronizing manner. He kept his eyes on her mouth.
"Thank you, Theodore," she whispered.
She knew he loved when she used his full name.
He slowly peered up from her open mouth, eyes darkening as he met her contrition. She grinned innocently at the heated haze now clouding his angry eyes.
"Don't push me, Dahlia." He shook his head at her.
She only pretended to stretch, letting out a small, breathy sigh as she exhaled in his direction. Theo clenched his jaw, blinking several times as if trying to toss aside the image of her making similar breathless noises beneath him that she so cleverly placed in his mind.
Dahlia waited for him to act. He was slipping; she could sense it.
In an impulsive moment, he harshly clutched her hand.
"What are you doing?" She gasped as he spun his time-turning ring in deliberate motions.
She watched in awe as he spun back the clock around them, mouth agape.
She stood from her seat and stepped forward as dozens of students entered and exited the classroom as the sun began to rise backward, setting. Time slowed as the moon rose into the sky, drenching them in its light through the large windows and breaking through the storm.
She spun to face Theo, who remained seated as he adjusted his ring, unfazed by the wondrous magic he had just performed. He locked the door with a focused glance, and then his unreadable eyes met her own. He ignored her enchanted grin as she stood mesmerized by the skill of his magic.
"I don't want you speaking to him so casually..."
His voice was tight, as if pained to speak with her.
Her smile fell. She nodded wordlessly, unable to commit verbally.
"What can I do?" She asked coyly.
There was a moment where he seemed as if he was fighting an urge to coddle her or punish her. Pull her close or lash out.
"I love you with everything in my heart. It's you..."
She fiddled with her nails quietly, reassuring him of her choices.
His hard expression softened. He ran a hand through his hair in exasperation.
"And I love you madly. We already know these things. You don't have to repeat them," he replied as if he didn't want to hear it.
She lifted her gaze beneath low brows. "Theo," she scoffed, nearly hurt.
He leaned forward, and a sultry grin slowly broke across his face. His demeanor changed abruptly as if ready for a distraction. His shift in mood was off-putting and difficult to follow.
"Dahlia?" He quipped back.
She shifted her weight to her other hip, alone in the moonlight.
"You want to know what you can do for me?" His tone was unreadable.
She remained quiet, knowing forgiveness or condemnation was near.
"Crawl to me," he whispered. His demand fell smooth from his lips.
She looked around the empty classroom nervously.
"No one is coming, love." He grinned as to convey all of his worst intentions for her, leaning forward and rubbing his hands together. His eyes were shimmering and dark — a distortion of a god of light.
"Crawl for me, darling..." He coaxed.
Her pulse quickened, and she was suddenly too far from his touch. He felt dangerous and unpredictable. This type of his love was rare, nearly foreign to her, but it was alluring all the same. He hadn't fucked her in jealousy since the first time he had told her he loved her.
She turned after a brief moment and looked to the moon as she removed her sweater. She let its light consume her through swirling snow clouds as she hadn't seen it in quite some time. It was a euphoria in its own right.
She removed her shoes and tights. She felt his eyes on her back, watching her closely. She unbuttoned her shirt to reveal a silver bra. She turned to face him as she loosened the zipper on her skirt and let it fall to the floor. She stood in nearly nothing as the light reflected off his signet ring. She had fastened it around her neck with a golden chain. She hardly ever wore the charmed necklace anymore since it had nearly suffocated her.
Theo spun his own ring she had given him around his middle finger as he waited impatiently. He motioned for her to come to him in a flippant manner, using two waved fingers as he leaned back, then shoved his hands in his pockets.
She said nothing as she lowered herself to her knees and moved slowly towards him on all fours. She swayed her hips as she crawled to him across the cold floor.
He shook his head and looked up to the stars as if cursing them for making her his own damned curse. He peered down to her with a rewarding smile as he finally reached forward to cup her face.
She kneeled before him between his legs as he gently caressed beneath her chin, tilting her mouth up to him but refusing to kiss her. She said nothing as she ran her hands up his inner thighs. His breath hitched as she slowed over his hardness beneath his trousers. She went to unbutton his pants.
He clutched her wrists together to stop her.
"Are you wet for me?" He whispered harshly.
She shrugged as she loosened one of her wrists. He allowed it. She brought her hand beneath her underwear and looked into his eyes with a breathless moan.
His mouth fell open slightly as he watched her. He had only wanted her to rub her thighs together to give him an answer, but this had been much sweeter.
She finally nodded. He let go of her wrist and motioned down for her to continue as he leaned farther into his chair, letting her have her wicked way with him. He watched her pull him free. She didn't spare him a moment to prepare himself before she took all of him into her mouth.
He let his head fall back as he groaned. He couldn't manage this for long, not when she knew the things he liked.
"Dahlia," he breathed, trying his best to hide the effect she had on him.
"Come here." He motioned for her to stand.
She smiled as she stood, the light cast behind her like a specter. He pulled her by the hips onto his lap, with her legs spread widely across his own. He sat taller, smirking like a winner as he teased his kiss, nearly pulling back as she anticipated him.
Like the strike of a match, he finally crashed his mouth against hers hungrily.
He held her tightly with a crushing weight as if he might seep into her pores too, just as the crystal had so he may be permanent.
He pulled her thin underwear to the side, unable to play his own game any longer. He lifted her hips, muscles straining so he could bring them together. She bit his lip and moaned quietly as he brought her down on his length.
"You take me so well," he breathed into her.
He would surely die for this, he realized.
Theo's head fell back as he felt her twitching within to adjust for all of him. She arched her back so he might hit that sweet spot she liked.
He now knew all the ways she liked to move against him; he had memorized all her different moans. He leaned farther back so he could please her best with a smug grin. He knew how to bring her home quickly. There was nothing left for him to discover as he knew all of her and loved every fragment, every breath. He knew all the right things to whisper and all the wrong things she liked, too.
He kept his mouth on hers so no whimper could escape and be lost to him. He pulled her forward and back on top of him as he sunk the edges of his rings into the delicate skin of her hips. She ran her hands down his neck and quickly unbuttoned her shirt. She placed light kisses on his collarbone. He took her face with a harsh grip.
"Don't waste time, love. Fuck me," he muttered through labored breaths.
She brought her lips back to his. Their chests were pressed tightly together as he wrapped an arm around her waist and kept her rhythm with his other hand, pulling her back and forth against him steadily.
He felt her begin to shake in his arms. He only smirked, knowing how predictable her body was to him now. He understood her fully.
She gripped his jaw as if she might find her high within moments, leaving his skin red and raw.
He stopped abruptly. She looked devastated, as if he had taken a glass of wine from her mid-sip. He kissed her neck and whispered against her skin, "Turn around."
He sank his teeth against her salty neck, nearly drawing blood.
She gasped at the harder-than-usual bite.
Theo traced her waist as she stood and turned. He sat up in his seat as he guided her down on top of him. Dahlia felt the warmth of his hard chest as he fisted her hair and pulled her back straight against him. He placed his other hand on her stomach as he began moving beneath her, beckoning her to move with him. He felt entirely too tight at this angle. He slowly caressed his hand downward until he found what he wanted. She whined beneath his touch.
Dahlia just wanted to see his face. She turned to kiss him, but he nudged her harshly, keeping her in place without a word. He tugged her hair, and she felt suddenly all too exposed.
"Please. I just want to kiss you," she nearly cried out.
He chuckled smoothly, and she shrank into herself. Her insecurities began to rear within her troubled mind. She couldn't decide if she liked this anymore, which was enough of a decision for her.
"Theo, I'm fucking serious! I don't want you like this right now!" There was an edge of panic in her voice.
He immediately let her go. He stood and quickly distanced himself, suddenly afraid to touch her. They took a separate beat to relax after an intense moment.
I fucked it, he thought. I fucked this up.
Dahlia wasn't sure where her emotional and physical boundaries met and ended with him. They were completely blurred. She had let him lightly punish her before during sex, but this felt different, like he might actually have hate in his heart for her, and he had mistaken it for love. Things had gotten so messy with Draco that she felt an overwhelming need to keep anything to do with him out of their intimate moments, including punishment. She had only realized this now, that this was too far.
Dahlia's eyes fell, threatening tears. She couldn't help but imagine how he might leave her once he realized their bond couldn't be broken. She would never be enough — never love him enough. The irony that he never felt worthy enough for her made her spin out of orbit.
She turned to face him in the black moonlight. The darkness would forever suit him best. He was gorgeous, and the small thought that any girl would want this — want him and be grateful for this — ate at her.
I should be grateful. She inhaled sharply, spinning out of control.
I'm always pretending to be so fucking thankful. I'm so fucking tired.
She turned back to the window, sneering for no one in particular.
Those girls didn't know better. She pitied the ones he might have liked or even loved before — his love could be volatile, even taxing, as he covertly tested limits. Dahlia knew she could handle it, as they couldn't. The bottomless well within her confirmed she was something else entirely. It could grapple with him.
"Dahlia..."
His voice was pleading, smooth like the final sip of whisky.
She turned as he approached her carefully.
"Darling..."
Theo cupped her face gently and stared into her weary eyes. He knew she was spiraling.
"It's alright." He picked her up by the waist and sat her on the desk in front of him. He removed his button-down shirt fully so she could see that he was vulnerable, as well. He brought her hands to cup his own face. He leaned his forehead against hers as he gently caressed her arms.
"Is this what you wanted?" He whispered, weapons down.
She nodded, feeling utterly ridiculous and like an open wound. He only smiled and kissed her cheeks gently a few times to bring her to a comfortable place. He held her tightly within his arms.
"I'll always love you. Alright?" He nodded his head. "Even when our bones return to the earth, I'll find you somewhere in a new lifetime or between the moons so I may love you again."
She nodded with an anxious expression.
"I'm sorry, Dahlia," he whispered. Her name sounded like a hymn as it passed through his lips.
"I will never do that again. I never want to hurt you." He pressed his nose to hers as he murmured.
Her lips finally parted for him, and he slipped his tongue inside her mouth. She leaned back on her arms, bringing him down with her as she deepened the kiss.
She spread her legs wider for him, and he took the hint. He hesitated before thrusting into her with close attention to her features, wanting to ensure she enjoyed every moment of this. He only saw her mouth fall open as he filled her. He started moving slowly as he pulled his thumb down on her bottom lip. He wrapped one arm around her lower back and traced her jawline with the other.
"I just wanted to look at you," she murmured.
He nodded and gave her a dimpled smile. "I like this the most," he whispered.
She placed her hand over his chest so she could feel his heartbeat. He placed his hand on top of hers and held it firm.
He kissed her neck as she tilted her head back under the dark shadows of the night sky. She channeled the moonlight through her pumping blood. She exhaled a shaky, hot breath into his mouth as he moved against her.
He hissed and clenched his jaw as if it had pained him to be graced by her power — her blessings unable to fall on him. He grinned wickedly like he enjoyed the brief torture. He moved faster as if unable to control himself.
She tried once more to manifest her love into a physical sensation for him. She glimmered, eyes paling with a brief incandescent glow.
"You're fucking beautiful," he spoke into her mouth. He wrapped his arms around her as if the slight scorched his heart lit his fire. He moved rapidly in and out of her, and she held the desk for support.
She panted as he got her closer. He moved his clenched hand up her side in a sweet pain. She knew it would bruise. He stopped over her bra as he pulled the fabric down, then bit her breast.
She gasped, falling into the abyss. He slowed his thrusts, licking up her sternum as she came undone for him. Her moans would forever be the call his heart answered.
He brought his mouth to hers, then picked up his pace. She laid fully on her back for him so he could see how he made her move — so he could see what his touch did to her.
He grabbed her hand and held it over her head. She channeled the moonlight again. She wanted to remind him she wasn't fully human and no one else could make him feel like this.
He moved roughly against her, and when she blew her cosmic breath into his mouth as he leaned over her, he found his own ecstasy from the pain as he came within her.
He loved making her his this way and that she allowed such a thing for him. She sat up and kissed him deeply as she moved her hips with his rhythm. She tousled his hair and ran her hands down his slick chest. He kissed her forehead with an exhausted breath as he pulled out of her.
"Well, that was new," he huffed. "You're getting stronger, I think." His tone was indecipherable.
She smiled, unaware of how incredibly worried he was that her desire for Draco was building along with her strength, and she would soon leave him behind. He wasn't sure what magic she had been trying to cast onto him, but the Fates wouldn't allow it. He wasn't chosen. He was cursed and had only seen something awful through her touch. He buried it deep within himself.
"I think so too. I wonder what else I can do." She grinned devilishly.
"You are equally marvelous and terrifying," he replied, picking up his shirt and buttoning it back up.
He walked back over to help her dress and situate herself. "Shall we?"
"If we must," she sighed.
He grinned. "It's important that we sit exactly as we were. It'll only feel like a lost second to those around us."
"I can't believe you bent time, so you might fuck me," she snorted.
"Dahlia, there is little I wouldn't do for the chance," he answered with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes, shaking his head.
He positioned her how he remembered and then deliberately spun his ring in select movements as if setting coordinates. Time moved forward rapidly. It was as if she blinked and she was back in class.
She squinted her eyes as they adjusted to the daylight. She turned to Theo, who wore a grin the god of mischief might throw on from time to time. She watched some students look out the window, curious and confused.
She jumped as Professor Snape entered the classroom and shut the windows. He passed out a large written exam, and she groaned in horror. She was hoping it would have been a more practical test. She looked at Theo, whose mood had turned to sudden dread, as well.
She sighed and got to work with her repaired quill. He held her hand under the table.
An hour or so had passed when Professor McGonagall entered the classroom abruptly. She quietly headed to the front of the classroom where Professor Snape was leaning against his desk, supervising.
"Severus," she heard her whisper before pulling him aside.
She kept her gaze on her test but felt their eyes burning on her. She glanced up and met Professor McGonagall's concerned face. She dropped her head back down quickly, ignoring them as they spoke in hushed whispers.
Theo's chair scraped against the stone floor. He stood, gathered his things, and walked to the front of the class. He threw his exam down on Snape's desk defiantly, then winked at her as he exited the classroom.
She turned to Draco, who was boldly observing Snape with intensity, not even caring for his exam. His eyes moved to her quickly, then found his professor again with growing concern. He shook his head to her in a protective nature, warning her that nothing good could come from their conversation.
She tried to focus her attention on the last page of her exam.
Once finished, she stood to turn in her test. Professor McGonagall stepped towards her and reached for her arm gently as she approached the desk.
"Miss Aldair, the headmaster would like to speak with you," she whispered quietly as other students listened.
Dahlia only smiled politely and nodded in an attempt to garner the least amount of attention. Professor McGonagall waved for her to follow. She grabbed her things and exited the classroom as students narrowed their eyes in scrutiny.
She glanced around the hall to see if Theo had waited, but it seemed he hadn't.
"Come, dear," McGonagall called, beckoning her to follow.
Dahlia was escorted to the headmaster's office. She approached the gilded phoenix statue and regarded it curiously. Professor McGonagall whispered the password, and the phoenix shuffled to life. It spun and revealed a swirling stone staircase.
Dahlia hopped on a stair as it cascaded upwards. It halted, and she continued up the stairs until she entered the headmaster's office. The eyes of at least fifty portraits peered at her wordlessly as she stepped forward.
"Miss Aldair," Dumbledore nodded.
He stood from the seat behind his desk and held out a hand to the opposite chair.
"Have a seat if you would like." His voice was too calming, unsettling.
Dahlia sat in the seat as requested. Dumbledore sauntered around his grand desk and leaned back against the polished table to face her.
He sighed. "It just so happens that your father sent word only hours ago that he will be escorting you home directly for the holiday. He should be arriving shortly."
Dumbledore waved his hand, and a tea set whisked through the air. It began preparing itself for her. He patiently waited for her response as if he might gauge her allegiance through her reaction.
Dahlia's mouth must have fallen open in shock. She slowly absorbed his words and what they meant to her. A rush of hot panic prickled her skin.
No, no, no...
She pushed her feet onto the plush oriental carpet to ground herself from the oncoming anxiety attack.
He deciphered the rising hysteria upon her face. "There is nothing I can do to prevent him from taking you, unfortunately," he added solemnly. "Have some tea. It should help calm the nerves."
Dahlia reached for the scolding beverage as she attempted to control her rapid breathing.
"I've heard reports that you have healed quite well." He folded his hands together.
Dahlia nodded uncomfortably. "Yes, I didn't even miss class."
"That is quite remarkable."
He sighed as if remembering something fondly. "You know, you are only the second seer I believe I have ever encountered."
Dahlia looked up sharply from her steaming tea. It was a shock to hear him speak so blasé about a heavily guarded secret that it seemed everyone now knew within the span of a few months. It was both freeing and horribly terrifying. She was waiting any day now for someone to drag her away before she could help herself.
He chuckled at her surprise.
"I had the pleasant opportunity to speak to your mother once," he paused, in case she wished not to hear about her — in case it was too painful.
She nodded for him to continue, desperate for any piece to add to the broken puzzle of her mother's love. He smiled, appreciating her curiosity.
"She was barely older than you. Maybe a year? Who knows, I'm far too old now to properly recall."
He looked towards the pensieve in the corner.
"She was weeping beneath the window of changing constellations. You know the one in the Astronomy Tower?" He nodded. "Where I believe you also spend a handful of evenings," he chuckled.
"Anyway, she did this often, and one evening, I finally stopped to ask if she was alright..."
He glanced down at his hands with a shimmer of regret as if it was a troubled memory.
"We spoke for a short moment, and Valeria, your mother, of course, told me something I still ponder often."
He tilted his head, revisiting the thought.
"A seer's words can be haunting that way, I suppose. Many have died in search of their wisdom, and many more die afterward in the pursuit of fulfillment...
"Anyway," he waved, "she asked me if I would like to know the secret to it all. I did, very much so. It was a time before I knew that some knowledge wasn't meant for us. Your mother told me the universe has stories to write, and it resists changes to the endings."
Dahlia sipped her tea and interrupted snidely, "That sounds about right. Vague and chaotic — just like her, per usual."
He chuckled before continuing. "She also shared that both good and evil are inevitable — the universe is unbiased to suffering. It acts only to keep a delicate balance, not for the greater good."
Dahlia kept her silence, mulling over her mother's sentiment. She knew this, too, in her bones. They were wielders for the balance. Their power was light in the dark.
"I was curious, as any wizard would be when one is lucky enough to find themselves amongst such a rare circumstance. I asked her what the stars had written for me."
He paused and looked down as if still spooked.
"She foretold that I would die within these walls. She was not one to sugarcoat unfortunate happenings," he laughed morbidly, "but she also said that it was a necessary ending to change the tides and that her daughter might need a nudge to bring it forth..."
He held his hands out to his sides and grinned.
"So, here we are — the nudge. Isn't that curious? And spectacular?"
Dahlia's eyes widened. She was horrified but desperate to know anything else about her mother, eager to grasp onto anything.
"Did she say anything else?" She muttered quietly.
He sighed as he sensed her heartache and refusal to see the point.
"She knew her time would be short. She wept under the window as she had seen you do the same once. She liked to hear your whispers through the constellations. She said you were boundless. The stars wouldn't whisper to you as clearly only because they were waiting for you to break the silence."
He brought his eyes to hers.
"I have no idea what any of that means, but I'm hoping you might."
Dahlia clenched her jaw to avoid showing any deep-cut emotion.
"I miss her," she mumbled. It tumbled out of her and was all she could manage.
"Miss Aldair, while I'm sure your story has a strict ending, and you are on the necessary path, I worry about the company you keep. You are neither good nor bad; you were born for the natural balance. If it ever gets too dark, please know that we are here to guide you home to the starlight. We are closer than you realize."
Dahlia shook her head, fed up. She was tired of vague knowledge that only raised more questions.
"Professor, I am not boundless," she scoffed. "I am, in fact, quite bound to Draco Malfoy for annoying reasons still unknown," she blurted rudely.
She wasn't totally sure why she had told him. She thought maybe the wise old man would have advice. He only laughed in surprise again.
"Isn't the universe resplendent? To think we are all pawns in a larger happening. It's both a beautiful relief and a horror amongst free will."
Dahlia only shook her head to disagree. She wouldn't, couldn't fall victim to the games of the higher powers.
"Well then, perhaps you both should work to solve it after all." He sighed, "And perhaps you should go and gather your things."
Dahlia froze as his words struck a chord. Could he possibly mean to help Draco solve the vanishing cabinet? Or did he simply mean to work together to solve the riddle of why they were bound?
Regardless, she placed her teacup upon his desk and stood.
"Thank you, headmaster." She smiled.
"Your words about my mother meant a lot to me."
She would be forever searching for any crumb she could gather so she may one day know every moment she had missed of her mother.
"We will meet you in the Viaduct Courtyard shortly," he replied firmly.
Dahlia stood and sighed politely with a nod before exiting his office.
The realization that she would be leaving Hogwarts with her father sank in as she headed back towards Ravenclaw Tower. She would have to see him again. It was a reality that refused to settle.
She was gracefully trotting along, quietly obeying. Always politely obeying.
Don't be an imposition. It was ingrained into every facet of her. Smile.
She suddenly halted. What the fuck was she doing?
She took off, dashing towards the Great Hall.
She needed to find Theo. Now. He would know what to do. He always did.
She pushed past students and apologized profusely as her blue robes swelled behind her, catching the wind. She wasn't even sure if he was there, but she was on limited time.
She raced through the doors of the Great Hall, her eyes drifting across the room in search of Theo. She had just seen him leave class less than an hour ago. Where was he?
He was nowhere to be found, but she did notice a few of his quidditch teammates. She approached them as they sat quietly, snickering to each other.
They glanced up at her as she neared the Slytherin table.
"Aldair? You alright, darling?" Ian Vasey asked, concerned.
"Do you know where Theo is?" She tried to steady her voice.
They looked at each other as if perplexed. They finally shrugged.
"Sorry, love. He's usually here," he answered.
She smiled and thanked them before hurrying out of the Great Hall.
She headed back towards the grand staircase, where all the common rooms could be easily navigated. She was heading down towards the stairs that would bring her to the dungeons so she might beg someone to let her into the Slytherin common room, but there was suddenly no need.
She heard his familiar laugh, rich in charm, echo through the staircase.
She paused as she searched for it breathlessly. She looked over the railing of the moving landing and found Theo's brilliant smile below — only this time, it wasn't for her.
He was smiling devilishly and speaking animatedly with a girl in Hufflepuff robes.
She was paralyzed and immediately nauseous. World wild with vertigo.
He was flirting; she knew his demeanor — had memorized it.
The girl's hair looked like hers used to, golden and streaked by the summer sun, back when he had first fallen in love with her before he had known she was a seer. She couldn't help that the stars had permanently drenched her hair in its glowing light.
Her stomach dropped as it all sunk in. The sick, irrational fear that he meant to replace her found flame. It burned brightly, consuming all of her thoughts.
Why would he do this? Why would he do this to me?
The girl grabbed his arm and stepped closer. She knew in her bones this was her karmic debt for what she had done with Draco in her dream. In the forest. In eternity.
He had been intimate with her not even hours ago. Should she have let him have his way with her like he wanted? Had he simply been a better liar? Had he turned the tables only to con against her instead of with her?
It was a painful confusion that left her trembling with fuel in her veins.
She numbed, the blackness holding her periphery hostage. Is this the envious sucker punch that Theo experienced regularly? How could he stand it?
Her crumbs of empathy didn't stop her rising bitterness from edging him out of her heart momentarily. Her darkness whispered in the back of her mind that she knew she could try to give him everything, too much, and it would still never be enough for him.
She pushed herself back from the railing, letting her hands fall to her sides with nothing left to give.
She turned, tears ready to stain permanently this time, and ran up the staircase to Ravenclaw Tower. She shoved through the students in a blind fury, not apologizing.
She didn't need him to fucking save her — sever her chains. She was star-born. She didn't answer to any man, especially the cursed ones. She only answered to herself and the goddesses from which she was so divinely crafted by their sacred hands from the dust between dying and birthed planets.
She could forge more crystals and bones, make them her own, and devour them all so she might shatter his soul with the snap of her fingers if she so wished.
She hated them all.
Theo could be a clever liar. Draco might be fickle and cruel, and her father was deceitful, but she knew she could be worse. An abomination if so pushed to it. If she only once dared to peer over the ledge into the bottomless well that resided within her, something sinister of her own forging might smile back out of that blackness.
She could fucking save herself, and Theo would be on his knees one day and begging to be lucky enough for her to save him too.
She felt an anxious rage pin-ball up her spine with nowhere to go as she raced up the stairs. She didn't wait to solve a riddle. She placed her hand upon the gilded bird and exhaled in a loose breath a million potential answers and endless knowledge.
The bronze statue whipped its wings into itself and shrieked violently.
The door opened as the magic malfunctioned. The statue squealed as if dying and didn't close behind her. Students gathered in horror, but Dahlia only continued at a furious pace to her dormitory. She opened the door to her room and slammed it shut behind her.
Juliet jumped at her arrival as she had been sitting quietly at her desk. Eloise immediately sat up from her bed where she had been reading.
"Dahlia? What's wrong?" They both exclaimed.
"My father is here. He's taking me home by force, it would seem."
She shrugged and laughed darkly. She wiped her hot tears away. She hadn't even realized she had been crying.
Another flaw, she thought.
"Does Theo know?" Juliet asked, watching her shove nearly all her belongings in a messy heap into her trunk.
"I tried to tell him, but he was talking to some stupid Hufflepuff girl. I don't know," she spat angrily.
She shook her head. "I shouldn't say she's stupid. He's definitely the stupid fucking prick. Fucking shit...Arsehole..."
She cracked aloud, but she was mainly speaking to herself. Eloise and Juliet shared a look of concern. They had never seen her quite so unhinged.
"And Dumbledore, the wisest wizard of our time, actually has no leads about what I might do with my Sight. Oh, and I think I just killed that bloody bird on the door. I definitely didn't know I could do that."
She wiped her nose as she continued to vent.
"He spoke to my mother on the topic of my Sight more than I ever did, so that's quite lovely for him. Glad he got some fucking answers!" She added viciously.
"Dahlia, let me help you," Juliet murmured as she began folding up her clothes to make more space in her trunk.
Dahlia stepped back as Eloise packed. She wiped her face. "I'm going to kill him."
"You're welcome to stay with me if you can manage to escape," Eloise said firmly as she hid Theo's journal in a sweatshirt before throwing it into the trunk. She had a sneaking suspicion that Dahlia would want it later and regret not packing it in her rage.
Dahlia only nodded, head hung.
"I love you both," she squeaked as she forced her tears to stop.
She wouldn't allow anymore to fall. She hugged both Juliet and Eloise tightly. She never felt like anyone's safety was guaranteed anymore, and she was terrified to let them out of sight for so long.
She let go after a long moment. She closed her trunk and locked it with her wand.
"We'll come with you," Eloise murmured. Juliet nodded in agreement.
"Windgardium leviosa," Dahlia cast.
Her trunk levitated in the air and followed her as she walked out of her dorm room. They passed through the broken door where Professor Flitwick was now standing with Mr. Filch over the statue. They both wore befuddled expressions. Dahlia paid them no mind.
They made their way down the winding staircase of Ravenclaw Tower. They moved with force. Dahlia was now determined to avoid both Draco and Theo as she left the castle with her father.
Dahlia held hands with Juliet as she made her way down the Grand Staircase, and her pulse started to pick up. She was terrified to see her father, whom she had abandoned in the middle of a dinner party the last time she saw him. She hadn't answered any of his letters — hadn't even opened the majority of them.
They halted. Juliet began smoothing her hair, knowing her father would criticize anything less than perfect.
"Please write to me," she begged her friends. "I want to know everything, especially how it goes with Xavier's parents, Eloise."
She let them go. A deep absence struck true.
She turned alone and headed towards the staircase in front of the Great Hall that led to the courtyard as her friends grimaced, waving sadly. This was it. She wasn't even sure if she would ever return here — home.
She felt a warm hand take hers from behind. She had been in such a daze of fear that she hadn't even noticed anyone following.
She turned quickly to find Theo towering over her, betrayal in his stance. She looked up into his calculating eyes that were forever home, whether she liked it or not.
He assessed her trunk and her disgruntled appearance.
She didn't have the capacity to speak first.
"Dahlia, what's happening?" He finally asked.
"My father is here. He's bringing me home. I tried to find you, but..."
She looked around at the growing whispers from the crowding students. Her father had most definitely arrived.
"Do you think he's pulling her out?" One girl whispered.
"My mother works at the Ministry and said he's sending her to Beauxbatons. Or worse, Ilvermorny," another girl chimed.
She couldn't fight with Theo so publicly, not with her father near. It would only give him more reason to remove her from Hogwarts if he saw her brawling. She was suddenly under a scorching microscope.
She finally finished her thought.
"...but you weren't around. You would know sooner if you had waited for me."
There was something between the lines he couldn't read.
He stepped closer to her in an attempt to gain some privacy from the lingering eyes. He didn't think her words were fair, as he had only disappeared for her sake.
"Darling, I was just in the Great Hall when people started whispering that your father was here. Then I saw you with your trunk. I was just here, Dahlia," he replied in a hushed tone, pointing to the hall behind them.
She smiled at him for the public eye, but her rage renewed. His honesty was all she had wanted, even if she hadn't been so forthcoming herself.
"I saw you elsewhere," she answered with the coolness of a knife, unable to contain her scowl. "I saw you with her," she whispered, barely audible beneath her sneer.
She saw the secret revealed click in his eyes. He reached for her and took her hand desperately. She was slipping through his fingers again. He was losing his composure.
"Dahlia, that was so innocent. I needed something," he murmured in a panic.
"It's alright," she lied, knowing it was what he hated most.
She just needed this conversation to end so she might sort through her emotions at a better time. She didn't want to look in his eyes as she didn't want to see her home catching fire.
"I have to go," she nodded firmly with a fake smile.
Honestly, it was all they had ever demanded from each other, yet here they were. Dahlia shook her head. Frauds couldn't find verity. This was the pain they deserved.
Theo tightened his grip as she slipped away. "No, you don't have to go, Dahlia."
He lowered his voice. "Please, don't act like you've never done the same. I love all of you..."
She dropped his hand as if burned.
She was too overwhelmed and emotional to think clearly.
"You aren't leaving with him," he whispered. "You aren't going, Dahlia."
She shook her head and tried to remove herself from his grip.
He grinned at her in sour confusion as he took her arm. The situation was falling out of his control. He nearly shook with rage.
"You promised. We promised," he forced through his teeth.
"What would you have me to do?" She sighed incredulously.
She managed to pull her arm free from his grasp and stepped back.
His expression finally broke into something more desperate as he realized that this might really be out of his control. He no longer understood her decision-making. He set his jaw and narrowed his golden eyes as if masterminding a plan.
"I don't know, Dahlia, but not this. Just take my hand. Please. It'll be fine."
Dahlia knew if she took his hand, he would steal her away, just as he had sworn countless times. He would apparate her to somewhere more private where he might cradle her heart, patch her wings, and smother her with so much love that she might never feel the need to rebuild herself again.
But she couldn't. She couldn't allow it.
She had to find her own courage in the fallout of her heart he had dropped.
She held steadfast, out of his reach. She didn't want Theo to take her away against her will. She wanted to fall into him and his safety, but she fought the urge.
"I'll be okay. You forget that I've always taken care of myself," she whispered confidently and took a step back as she crossed her arms. "I don't need you."
It was true. She had healed herself from splinching. Draco was the one who had held her hand while her bones were reborn. She had carried her grief alone for years. She could face her father as she had done so all this time. She was braver than she realized.
She began walking back. The courtyard came into view through the massive doors that remained open and welcoming. She saw her father chatting politely with Dumbledore and Professor Snape. She felt momentarily numb as the reality sunk in.
She looked back at Theo.
A defiance emerged in his eyes as they bore into her. His jaw was set with a furious unwillingness. He stepped forward to reach for her arm or any piece of her to keep her safely within the castle walls.
She cringed. He was going to take her.
Draco stepped between them, taking his shoulders. "Don't. You'll only give him leverage. You'll make it worse for her," he murmured to Theo with cold annoyance.
Theo viciously glared at him. His eyes were wild and desolate.
"It's chess, Theo. Politics, mate...so make a better move. Her father expects this from you," Draco added in a lower voice.
Theo ripped himself from Draco's grasp. "You don't know shit," he hissed, a deathly will in his eyes.
"That's her father, Nott. Her father, " Draco reasoned, pushing him back towards the crowd of students.
Theo watched Dahlia shake her head, her eyes pleading with him to behave. He felt Amelia interlace his hand with hers for either emotional support or to keep him in the crowd with her.
He mouthed, "I love you."
She only smiled and anxiously twirled his signet ring on the long golden chain around her neck. It brought him solace to see his house crest upon her; she still wanted to be his, despite whatever had just happened.
Dahlia was too upset with him to say she loved him back.
Juliet read the distress in her eyes and rushed to her side. They turned to meet her father in the courtyard.
Dahlia felt Theo's scrutinizing gaze on her back as she walked down the stairs.
"My beautiful moon!" Her father embraced her with gentle love as she approached. "And Miss Hart. I hope your parents are well."
Juliet only nodded and smiled brilliantly for Dahlia's father. She reached to hug Dahlia goodbye.
"If you need anything, write to me," she whispered in her ear as she embraced her.
"I'll see you soon."
"Miss Aldair, we will welcome you back shortly," Dumbledore sighed calmly with folded hands. He turned to her father. "Devereaux, your company is always a delightful occasion, even if unexpected."
Her father nodded with a polite grin. "Great to see you, Albus. Do let me know if there is anything you ever need from the Ministry."
"Shall we, Dahlia?" Her father extended his arm out to her. She took it and disappeared with a crack.
Theo thought it might have resounded from his own heart.
—
The peace of the winding snow-dusted path was disrupted as Devereaux Aldair apparated with his daughter to the edge of the castle grounds.
The winds cried, and the frosted trees shook as the iron gates of the perimeter creaked to life, slowly opening so they could walk through the heavy wards that protected the castle from unwelcome intruders and outside apparitions.
Dahlia was wordless. Her father looked down and assessed her reddened face and bloodshot eyes. He grabbed her arm, worried she might make a run for it.
She reacted spitefully with a tug of her arm. "I'm not a chi-"
"Do not speak." His face scrunched in frustration. "Never assume we are alone."
He dragged her through the warded gates, and they swiftly groaned shut behind them. They left the castle grounds without a moment's pause.
—
Dahlia stumbled into the grand foyer of her estate. Her trunk slammed onto the cherry oak floor with a heavy thud beside her. She reoriented herself and smoothed her skirt. It was uncanny to be standing here in her school uniform when Hogwarts had always felt more like home.
Her father straightened his suit and threw his cane aside with a tired sigh as if bringing her home had been a tedious chore. His public mask of joviality slipped to reveal heavy disappointment. He looked ten years older with weariness. He turned to face her, exasperated, with one hand on his hip.
"Dahlia, I've been quite lenient. I've let you run off with Amelia at your own discretion because I know these past years have been difficult."
He stepped forward. His face twisted with coldness.
"But I will not have you living with that Nott boy or any man until it's appropriate. I will not tolerate you barely passing your classes and rumors circulating about your indecent behavior."
He ran his hand through his well-trimmed grey hair, then pointed at her.
"It is not who we are. You've lost your godsdamned mind."
He turned from her as if the sight of her was triggering. He shook his head viciously and swiped his hand across his mouth as if to hold back harsher words.
Dahlia shifted uncomfortably, her thoughts swirling.
He must have received her letter about her holiday plans and been furious. She should not have told him at all. Then, she could have carried on as she wished — shattering the last of her pristine facade to become whole.
She rubbed her hands together as she felt her anxiety heighten.
Her father brought his fingers to squeeze his forehead as if her silence and this whole interaction was giving him a pounding migraine. "Dahlia, I know you are cross with me, but it is critical we present a clean, united front to the public during difficult times. Things are unstable and in a delicate balance."
Dahlia shifted, unable to overcome the feeling of shame she had been raised to endure when she was less than perfect. It was a vicious conditioning she had yet to break.
Her father glanced over, and his eyes softened. He lowered his head to level with her. "Are you upset about the Malfoys?"
The question caught her so off guard that she finally found words to string together amidst her emotional storm.
"What are you talking about?" She scoffed, squeezing her arms across her chest and bone-weary in tone.
His eyes sharpened. His irritation grew as he realized she hadn't bothered to read half his letters. "I had hardly considered the offer, but your recent behavior makes me want to consider selling you off after all..."
He laughed as if the thought was sickly humorous.
Dahlia pursed her lips as Draco's harsh words echoed in her mind. His honesty had been too cruel for her then as he had reminded her she was useless to her father and only worth the alliance he might gain from her hand in marriage.
She opened her mouth to question further but stopped short as her father sighed in contemplation.
"...and then I might shift you away from Tiberius's son," he muttered.
He knew there was no point in stating his disapproval directly, as Dahlia hadn't needed to ask if her father approved of Theo in the first place. She already knew the answer — known from the start that Theo wouldn't have been an acceptable choice. He wore his heart and intentions on his sleeve, which Devereaux Aldair found so incredibly foolish. The Nott House had been mortared in blood spilled disrespectfully from open violence — they were unfair men.
The match would be scandalous, regardless of how he could try to spin it on her behalf. Her father had hoped it was only an infatuation when Theodore Nott had taken that first step into their home. He felt pity for the boy, but not nearly enough to let him keep his only daughter.
Dahlia sat on the monstrous staircase that had been carved to resemble the hollow of an ancient tree — the railings smoothed into delicate, blooming branches. She exhaled slowly. There was no need to argue what Theo might be worth to her father. She had deemed him worthy, which was enough for her.
She couldn't yet fathom what he had just done. What she had seen was incomprehensible. She squeezed her eyes shut.
The long silence revealed something broken. She placed her hand where her mother had once sat in a withered, fading memory. It might have been her first cognizant thought — how beautiful her mother had appeared, laughing in a ball gown as she sat on the same stair, drinking from a bottle of champagne as it neared midnight. Her mother had cradled her sleeping frame as she had refused to tuck her in, wanting all the hours with her but also not ever wanting to leave a party. Her parents had pleasantly squabbled.
"No, Dev. Stop it!" Her mother had fought, slurring and grasping onto the champagne bottle as she held her close.
"Val, please. I tirelessly love you, but it's too late. You have to let her sleep for once."
The bottle slipped from her mother's grasp, and she laughed. Her father had taken Dahlia out of her mother's arms while shushing her cries and carried her to bed.
The reminder of that small separation painfully ricocheted off the more permanent severance. She missed her mother so much that it revealed a new perspective.
Whoever had her aching heart and whoever would have her cursed hand simply didn't matter. The romantic sleights now seemed insignificant — they didn't hurt so much because no romantic heartbreak could ever compare to the bone-crushing loss of her. They were small fissures next to a gaping ravine.
She chuckled a sob, scolding her father for thinking her so foolish to be upset over romantic dealings.
"You broke us," she spoke quietly, staring at the spot where her mother had sat.
She nodded, grudge building.
"You broke her." Her voice also broke with the truth as it left her lips.
He stiffened, his composure lost for the first time since he had last held his late wife.
Dahlia muttered, "You took her from me."
She wiped a furious tear. "And now I am alone..."
She let the words hang in the air like a decaying corpse — long gone. She looked away from her father, who had never been much for it.
She wiped her eyes and, in a disgusted tone, continued.
"...because you might as well be dead to me too."
Her father took a step closer, refusing to soak in her words and accept she knew the truth.
"Who has been putting these wild thoughts into your mind?" He asked casually.
She stood up in a quiet rage and opened her trunk. She ripped through her clothes and belongings. She found her father's own journal. She tossed it at his feet.
She said nothing. The betrayal in her eyes said enough.
He let out a shaky breath. It was as if he realized he had no choice but to fold. His face tightened as if fighting the words.
He muttered sharply, "I put my trust into the wrong hands, and I paid dearly for it."
He nodded unwaveringly. "I loved her as I love you." A million truths flashed across his eyes, but he stuttered as he attempted to grapple for another sentence.
"This isn't love!" She bellowed as she grabbed the journal off the floor since he hadn't cared enough to pick it up himself.
The emotional turmoil began to manifest, taking on life.
Dahlia couldn't breathe. She heaved and gasped for air.
Her father mistook it for a cry of despair. He shoved over a crystal vase of cream dahlias in frustration. It shattered across the floor at her feet.
She recoiled from the sharp glass. She fell back to the stairs and gripped the banister as the toll became too great. Blackness seeped into her periphery. She looked around frantically as she heard otherworldly whispers licking her ears.
Her father finally took notice of her hysteria. He stepped towards her, panic-struck as she clenched the stair beneath her seated frame. He tried to remember how he would soothe her mother in such cases. He tucked Dahlia into his chest as she cried in pain, her consciousness splitting.
She begged herself to stay present as her mind began tumbling through the stars and whipping timelines, but it was too late — she was gone. The cosmos took her. She desperately reached for a timeline to hold on to that might break her fall, but all she saw were flashes of possibilities, a film screen burned into her mind as different realities rippled.
She saw her father shake hands with a handsome young man well in the past. Her mother, levitating into the stars as they swooned in worship. Her father, weeping as he played with her and her teddy bears as a wailing voice carried down a maze of halls. Her child-self winced at the familiar sound. She saw her father begging the same handsome demon for it to end.
"No!" She cried, voice cracking as she watched him barter his own daughter's life — her life — away to end it.
Dahlia writhed against the stardust to grapple a different string of time only to see her mother crawling through blood-stained grass.
Dahlia sobbed a scream — it wasn't her mother, she realized.
She looked down and became herself. Warm blood soaked her own black-dusted fingertips and star-bleached hair. Someone desperately reached for her cold, death-touched hand. She flinched, and reality quaked — she was suddenly out of body.
She turned, terrified and heart racing. She sobbed at the future she had found.
The image before her would forever brand itself into her memory — Theo holding her lifeless frame, limp and well past dying. He roared as fury ripped him clean in half. She saw the dark chaos he would cause in the cracks of his tearing soul. He was reborn, in this moment, into the monstrous fallen prince.
She covered her gasping mouth as she began to hyperventilate. She wiped tears of blood from her face as she ran into the ancient wood. Here, the trees were inverted, roots hung high above. The large trunks were covered in moss, fading from the brightest green to cursed black.
She ran, heart pounding in terror, away from her lifeless body until a cold hand snatched her ankle. She twisted around, tumbling to the ground. The back of her head cracked against the earth.
She had fallen into a void where nothing existed at all. She floated aimlessly through the sacred waters of dark matter.
In the graveyard of dying stars, she found peace.