𝕃𝕖𝕥𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝔸𝕟𝕕 𝕀𝕟𝕜
𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑜𝑑𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑁𝑜𝑡𝑡 𝑥 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑒𝑟
𝑊𝑎𝑟𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠: 𝐴𝑛𝑔𝑠𝑡, 𝑓𝑙𝑢𝑓𝑓, 𝑠𝑙𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑚𝑖𝑠𝑠𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛,
𝑆𝑢𝑚𝑚𝑎𝑟𝑦: 𝑌𝑜𝑢 𝑡𝑟𝑦 𝑡𝑜 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑓𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑏𝑦 𝑙𝑒𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑠, 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑖𝑡 𝑑𝑖𝑑𝑛'𝑡 𝑔𝑜 𝑎𝑠 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑤𝑖𝑠ℎ𝑒𝑑 𝑓𝑜𝑟
𝑊𝑜𝑟𝑑 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡: 5𝑘
A/N: my second fic, took forever to write as usual. Enjoy:)
Theo stared intently at his desk with his arms crossed over his chest. He was sitting in divination, not listening as Professor Trewlany droned on about 'the art of studying horoscope charts'. Every single word that escaped her mouth made its way to Theo's ears like a mosquito's bussing, which irked him to no end. He didn't even know why he signed up for the class to begin with. That's a lie. The reason he was slumping in this class was absurd, and the absurd reason was sitting by the round table in front of him, looking half asleep.
He struck you a glance, feeling the scent of overly-soaked tea and Incense reach his nose as he took a deep breath. He felt truly pathetic. Taking a ridiculous class for a girl. He could practically hear his ancestors cackling at him from their graves.
But how could he not, it was you. You with your old sweaters, you with that sarcastic mouth, you with that creative and colorful mind that always seemed to impress him. As he said before, absurd.
His eyes slowly traveled back to his table. Or rather what was laying on his table.
Before, at the almost beginning of the lesson, he'd found a letter in amongst his books. It looked like it had been written on very old parchment, and the ink that spelled out Theodore was smudged on the edges as if someone had swiped their hand over it before letting the ink dry.
He picked it up and thumbed at the edge of the folded paper, speculating if he should open it or not. A part of him was filled with nerves and slightly excited about receiving a letter. But at the same time dread, it because what if it was a detailed written letter about someone's undying love for him.
Theo truly couldn't understand how some people loved him so much that they felt the need to confess by letter. He had never really been the most handsome when he was younger, at least that was what he thought, but when he grew into puberty it changed. His looks, his voice, his height. And also his popularity among the boys and girls at Hogwarts and along with the streets of London.
"Mr. Nott!" He slowly carried his eyes forwards, meeting his gaze with the big googly eyes of Professor Trewlany, along with every single student in the classroom.
"Ah! There you are, though I had lost you for a second there." she smiled toothily, and she continued with the lesson as if nothing had happened.
He felt embarrassment crawl steadily up his neck, and he lightly cleared his throat as if he could cough away the feeling.
Feeling a pair of eyes crawling over him, he looked around, finding that it was you that had been looking at him. Warmth rose to his ears, and the feelings had come to be to get too much for Theo.
He lightly tilted his head to you, as if asking what you wanted, and you raised one of your eyebrows at him as if it were obvious why you were staring at him. And you knew that he knew what you meant when he mouthed a 'later' before trying to focus on your lesson again. Albeit it was hard, as his fingers itched to unfold the letter but he wanted to open it outside the classroom with your guidance.
You slowly turned in your seat again, still wondering what could have gotten him so tense.
--
His head quickly turned around when you got a hold of him, and his face pleasantly relaxed when he saw you scowling at a student that had pushed you aside to get by. You proceeded to push him forward as you felt students starting to step at the heel of your shoes.
When the lesson finally came to an end, you did your best to stand up and sprint after Theo, even though your body tingled in pain from the uncomfortable position you sat in during the last hours. You saw his mop of hair walk out of the doorway, and you hurriedly shoved through your classmates to catch up with him. And when you finally reached him, you quickly took a handful of the back of his robe so that either you or he wouldn't lose each other in the crowd.
"Alright, alright, no need to push me." He told with a slight attitude layering with his clear voice. You rolled your eyes but did listen to him either way, not having the energy to push him either way.
It felt like you could breathe again when you finally arrived at the end of the stairs, and you slowly let go of Theo's robe as your hand started to cramp because of the harsh clasp you had on him. And the two of you began to track through the corridor that led to the courtyard.
"Nice weather today innit?" Theo looked at you weirdly as you tried to small talk. Your steps echoed in the once empty hall, and he wondered what had gotten you so awkward all of a sudden.
You couldn't help but take a look at him as you walked shoulder against shoulder. His hair was different like he'd started to take care of his dark brown locks. Its hair had a new shine to it, especially when the sun hit it. You lightly cleared your throat when you realized that you were starting again, and looked out of one of the big windows.
"What, you want to go out or something." He asked, and it wasn't until after he said it that he realized how it sounded. But it didn't seem like you noticed. He didn't know whether he should be happy or not about it.
You thought about it, and you decided that it did sound like a good idea. So you gave him a nod.
"Good, because I need your help." You watched curiously as he dug his hand into his pant pocket, and pulled out a piece of folded paper. Your eyes widened almost comically as you watched him fiddle with the familiar piece of parchment. You felt as if the hallway suddenly became a little bit too warm, and you felt yourself starting to sweat under your school uniform.
"Found this in one of my books earlier." He told you, turning the paper around, inspecting it. Panic began to rise in your chest as he grabbed your wrist and dragged you along, his eyes still caught on the letter.
Why didn't he open it when he got it?! Is he stupid?! Why do I need to be with him, does he know? Is he trying to embarrass me?
"Oh, hold on! I just remembered. Professor Dumbledor wanted me to go to his office after divination, something about Magic of dark arts." Everything came out in a jumble of words and you were worried that you were going to get tongue-tied.
You looked around yourself, trying to find anything that would bring you out of the awkward situation. But nothing. So you used your brain the best you could, trying to find a good enough excuse to get out of the excruciatingly embarrassing moment.
Theo watched you with suspicion. You were doing good in that class, always graduating with the highest grade. But he recently let you go, either way, finding no peace in arguing with you.
"Alright, see you later then." He nodded, and you saw how he was fighting off a frown, but you shook the guilt off and ran towards Dumbledor's office. Or more like running past his office and sprinting towards the Gryffindor common rooms.
You pushed through the people on the stairs, accidentally stepping on Neville's foot in the process.
"Sorry, Neville!" Nevil, Dean, and Seamus watched you crawl up the stairs in a hurry.
"I'm telling you, that lady is crazy." Seamus voiced, and Dean snorted loudly.
--
"So stupid." You muttered, shaking your head.
"Mimbulus Mimbletonia." You articulated, giving a glance to your surroundings before slipping into the red and yellow painted common room. The room was luckily empty, most of the students enjoying the last warmth of the sun before it became cold once again. You unconsciously started pacing around in the room with your thumbnail getting amused by your teeth.
"So, so stupid. Why would you give him a letter? He hates letters." Cursing at your stupid decisions, you threw yourself on one of the couches, letting your body melt into the fluffy cushions with your jaw resting on the place between your collarbones.
"Shut up Fred."
"Oh, what a depressing sight." Someone sighed deeply, a faux petty in their voice. You knew that voice by heart and didn't have to look up when two weights invited themselves on either side of your potato bag of a body.
"He's right, you look depressing. Maybe even a bit pathetic, with a little piece of hopelessness in the mix." George rubbed his imaginary beard as he thought about what you looked like.
You sighed. Normally the presence of a Weasly would be enough to dig you out of your moods, but this time it did the opposite.
"Thanks, I'm aware." There was a bite in your voice, and the twins met eyes, both holding a pinch of surprise in their brown irises.
Fred slowly sank into the couch, mirroring your body language. Whether it was to tease you or if he felt as utterly dumb as you did, no one knew. And frankly, you didn't care.
"Oh? was that what I thought it was?" Fred egged on, and the small laugh that escaped you was uncontrolled. It was strange how they were able to be such mood lifters. Because they could be real asshats in their moments.
"Soooooo." You felt George starting to rearrange is the position he was in, and after some shuffling around, he was laying on his stomach with his legs swaying back and forth. They stared at you with those puppy dog-like eyes, and you were forced to push your tongue against the wall of your cheek to not let your smile show.
"How did the letter thing go, did you woo him with your charming letter." And you were back to sulking once more.
"It went shit." You muttered.
"Elaborate." Fred encouraged, resting his head in his palm.
You sighed dramatically before resting your head on the edge of the back seat.
"He didn't open the letter when he got it, and then he expected me - who wrote the letter - to sit with him while he read it like a bloody moron." Rambling and exaggerating were two things of your specialty. It did occur often, but fortunately, no one seemed to think that it mattered, only finding it a little more amusing.
"Well, he must know that you're so extremely head over heels in love with him either way now since he read the letter I mean," Ginny spoke up from nowhere and your head snapped towards her when she did. Fred and George agreed from their point of view, thinking that the problem was solved.
"They told me." She quickly defended herself while pointing at the two boys on your sides.
"Why wouldn't you sign with your name when you declared your love for him, you moron," Ginny whined. And you tried to get out an excuse for your stupid mistake.
"Well, he would know, yes. If it weren't for the fact that I did not sign my name." With a guilty mumble, you sank even further down on the couch, feeling the weight of the consequences of your action on your shoulders. Or rather the lack of action.
The three siblings simultaneously groaned and complained at your confession.
"Bu- Well it wasn't like it was an 'exact declaration'. I just wrote about how his hair and eyes looked nice." You shrugged with a small pout forming on your lips. The whole ordeal was beginning to feel ridiculous and you were starting to regret ever giving him the note in the first place.
"What did you even expect to happen. That he would figure out who it was in two seconds and run into your arms?" Ginny asked, and the twins gasped comedically.
"Harsh, sister."
You let out a pitiful groan. "No, she's right. I should just... not continue. Let it be." You gave yourself an encouraging nod, ignoring the sinking feeling in your chest. You wanted to Nott about your feelings so bad, but you didn't have the mental strength to get turned down, and potentially ruin the only thing that let you be close to Theodore.
"No! That's even dumber! You are going to continue with this letter thing you've started with." Ginny pointed at you sternly, and she watched your eyes turn big at her tone of voice.
"Or else... Or else I'm going to take you off the Quidditch team." She crossed her arms over her chest and stared down at the three of you. And just when you opened your mouth Ginny made sure to shut it.
To everyone's surprise, including your own, you did continue to anonymously send those poetic words to Theodore, and while you didn't do it with any proclaimed confidence, you didn't sit by the side to wait for the faith to tie you together.
"And don't think that I can't, because I know people." She informed with a stone face and puffed chest. You quickly nodded, not finding yourself intimidated by the younger girl, though still trusting her words. And with the confirmation from you, she swiftly turned around and let her legs carry her towards the door, intending to get that last beams of sunlight on her face.
--
And even though Theo might be the unaware genius, he was still observant and could detect a shift of emotion by the smallest twitch of an eyebrow or the tiny wrinkle on someone's nose. But it didn't seem to be in his favor for the situation he was glued in.
Though you didn't know if you gained a positive response from him since you always avoided him after the letter was hidden and given. And as Theodore was the smartest wizard in the house of Slytherin, in your year at least. It astounded you that the cunning Mr. Nott still hadn't come to figure out that the letters were from you. But you didn't know his point of view, and that was not calming your anxiety one bit. For while you craved for him to know your affections for him, you knew that the risk of rejection was still a major possibility of an outcome.
So when the lesson ended he quickly took a strong grip on your wrist before forcefully dragging you after him. At first, you didn't outwardly question him or protest, but when you saw the nicely folded papers in between his fingers, you felt a cooling bucket of panic getting thrown over your head.
He did notice that every time he brought up the factor that he wanted to show you something, you were immediately gone by the second. And your -what he hopes was- excuses were thoroughly thought out and planned, making them seem like they were only coincidences. And on his fifth letter he decided that it was time to tell you about the letters, even if, for whatever reason, you didn't want to hear.
Fear began to take over, doubts and anxious questions filling your brain to the rim. You attempted to object and you were beginning to run out of excuses, but it didn't matter because the second you opened your mouth you were shut down or hushed by Theodore.
"Oh Nott come on, stop being impossible!" you tried to protest.
"Oh hush and quit whining." Muttering. You despised when he muttered.
He grabbed the chair closest to you, and as the gentleman, he was, pulled it out for you.
It appeared to you that he was taking you to the library, and you let that calm your nerves since you knew that he would never try any confrontation in a public space. But to your horror, the library was packed with students. He decided that a spot in the back would be the best option, both for his and your comfort. And after accidentally walking into someone he finally arrived at the corner that he was looking for.
But you didn't seem to understand because first, you looked down at the seat that was meant for you before you slowly allowed your eyes to travel upon Theo, who was looking at you with a newfound determination. He was closer to your face than you prepared for, and you instinctively held your breath so that you wouldn't breathe on his face.
When you looked at him, Theo almost wanted to drop the act that he had going on. You looked up at him with big, questioning eyes and it took Theo the little self-restraint left after all the years with you to not do something regrettable.
"Sit." You could see his sharp canines as let the world out between his lips. It wasn't an ask and neither was it a suggestion. His demand caught you so off-guard that he didn't have time to blink before you were sitting on your chair.
"As you can see, I've been getting letters." He started.
Theo felt a small amount of ridiculous as he ordered you around, but he didn't have a choice since if he didn't, you would continue to slip through his fingers like an eel. He sat himself down in the red-clad chair and slowly pulled out the letters, trying to gauge a reaction from you. But your face didn't show any signs of discomfort, uneasiness, or awkwardness. The only emotion visible on your face was the cursed confusion.
"And I think that you already knew that since you've been trying to get away from me every time I try to bring them up." He paid notice to how your back slightly straightened, and he took that as an I sign to continue.
"But that doesn't matter right now." And that's a lie.
You watched as he tried to find the right words and a deep sigh told you that he was struggling. You had known Theo for 4 years, and even though he had a great capacity for writing and reading, he was still struggling with his speech. And it wasn't that he was bad at his grammar, he just had a problem expressing his feelings. And that had gotten you into many unforgettable fights and misunderstandings.
"I need your help." It was mumbled, almost not heard. You raised your eyebrows in slight surprise, feeling slightly helpless as you watched the seemingly distressed young man in front of you.
"And what might it be that Mr. Nott might need help with." You crossed your leg over the other, and you felt slightly bizarre at this moment.
Theodore watched your pellicular manner and raised his eyebrow at you when you reminded him a bit too much of a phycologist.
"Seriously, what's up with you?" He asked, but didn't have the needed patience to wait for an answer that wouldn't come.
"Whatever, what should I do with the letters?" What. You furrowed your eyebrows in confusion.
"I'm afraid I'm lost."
He sighed, rolling his eyes and scoffing, seemingly feeling irritated by the fact that you didn't understand him for shit.
"Should I read them, throw them away? Or maybe you should read them?" He sounded conflicted like it was one of the hardest decisions he'd ever had to make, and you got curious about what could've gotten him to behave like he did at the moment.
"Wait, you haven't read the letters." It was more a conclusion than a question.
For some reason was the first emotion you felt embarrassment, and you had no clue as to why. Something in the back of your head told you that he knew that you were the culprit, but it was almost if not impossible for him to know. Or perhaps it was for the fact that you felt so desperate to know how he felt for you.
You could feel yourself sinking into your chair as Theo shook his head.
"I was going to read the first with you, but it seemed that Dumbledore's office and quidditch seemed to be more interesting." A small scowl melted upon your face, and annoyance flared up in your chest as he blamed his cowardness on you.
Theo felt his heart rattle as you lightly glared at him, whether it was from the feeling of excitement or uneasiness, he didn't know. And as an answer to your glare, almost like an instinct, he raised a challenging eyebrow.
It made you roll your eyes, starting to get tired of his childish behavior.
"Coward." You mumbled.
"I'm not a coward, I don't want to open the letters if I don't know who they're from." He hastily defended, and once again your face scrunched up in confusion. You shifted in your chair, uncrossing your legs and letting them fall to the sides as you sagged even more. And out of an accident, your foot made contact with his. You were just about to jump away, but Theo didn't move nor recognize it, so neither did you.
"So you want the letters to be from a specific person?" You sighed tiredly. You waited for the shake of his head and speech of denial. But it didn't come. Instead, he slowly nodded, while looking at you through his lashes.
You let your face be overcome by faux surprise and excitement and tilted your body forwards so that you could rest your head in your hands.
"Who is it." You cringed at the squeal in your voice, but you didn't let it show for the sake of your little act.
"I don't see how that's any of your business." There was a shift in his tone, and you were taken aback by the quick change in demeanor. You slowly leaned back with a scoff stuck in your throat.
Theodore suddenly felt uncomfortable by your sudden show of excitement and his stomach slowly sunk as his thoughts went haywire. It was obvious to him that you wouldn't show this excitement over who he might love, especially if you didn't know who. He pressed his lips together in misfortune and let himself get consumed by the failure and shame.
The letters weren't brought up again after that, and Theodore seemed to have dropped his strange attitude and gone back to his normal, brooding, and charming self. Although you couldn't shake off the feeling that something had changed with him, you just couldn't pinpoint what.
"No need to get so defending Nott. I was only asking." He scoffed lightly and began to back his letters into his robe.
Your butt had started to ache and it felt like the old tree bench had started to grow roots to you because of how long Oliver had been discussing tactics and positions and whatnot for the last hour. You understood that he wanted to win because you all did. But you didn't believe that sitting on your arses was the best way to prepare.
"Alright, let's wrap this up. Fred, George. You had something to say?" Slightly shifting on the bench, you watched as the twins switches places with Oliver and you exchanged glances with Angelina, but she didn't look like she knew what they were up to either.
"We would like, as a start for our speech, to get our lovely chaser (name) up on stage." Two hands grabbed the fabric of your red and gold clothes, and you yelped as you were roughly pulled up, and squished between the twins.
"That's what is suspected. And how convenient that our chaser has given us her hands." You started to protest in their grip as the small crowd four broke out in applause and jubilee. But before you were able to break out from their strong grip, they turned to you and blocked your way with their tall frames.
There was a silence before they began again."How many in here, would like a free broom service." The entire room stretched their hands up, and you started to suspect evil in their minds. But you let them continue for the sake of your sanity.
"If we win, you confess to your Slytherin man." You quickly opened your mouth to protest but as usual, you were quickly shut down. " And if you refuse, the night will be spent with six broomsticks instead of snogging with Nott." George finished Fred's sentence, and you squirmed at their bluntness and choice of words.
Their faces were a void of amusement, and you felt yourself being pushed into a corner. Both figuratively and literally.
"Alright fine. Fine! I'll do it. If this is the only way you'll leave my love life alone. I'll do it." You only mumbled the last part, the words being meant more as a personal encouragement.
That's why it came as a surprise that you could hear Theodore's sharp whistle through the autumn air.
They silently did their celebrations, high five and a little too hard slap on your back. And after five minutes, you were standing on the side of the court, swallowing down your nerves and waiting to step up on your brooms and start the game.
--
You watched in broad horror as Harry catches the snitch before the Hufflepuff did, your stomach turning itself inside out with nerves. You had seen Theodore in the crowd, and while it normally would make you giddy, it didn't go quite the same this time. The shouts and hollers of victory were ears deafening around you, and that combined with the buzz in your ears because your adrenalin rush made it hard for you to even hear your thoughts.
You found him standing on the edge of the stand, and when he saw that he had your attention, he gently waved you down to him with his hand. Almost immediately, you directed your broom down and stopped it so that you would be eye to eye with him.
"Hello." He was leaning against the wooden beam that was acting like a railing, with a small, sly smirk on his face.
"Hi." The shy smile on your face was uncontrollable, but you couldn't help it because you had never seen Theodore looking at you with such eyes.
"You did a good job out there."
"Why thank you." You answered bashfully. Theodore looked down on his armrest with a small smile, and began to slowly trace it with his fingers.
"You know, I never would've guessed that you could be such a poet." He watched your face twist in confusion.
You felt your body begin to warm, pushing away the autumn cold as hooded Theodore's eyes were locked with your lips.
"Sorry, but I'm no poet." You answered carefully, sensing what this was about. But you couldn't understand. He said that he didn't read the letters, and even if he did it later, it meant that it had only taken him one day to figure out who it was from. A gulp scratched your throat as Theodore's eyes began to travel away from yours. Like a soft caress, they raked over your face, from your brows to your soft cheek, ending on the cupid of your lips.
"You're a dick sometimes."
"Nott-." That's all of your warnings that you were able to get out before he placed a big open-mouthed kiss on your cold lips. At first, your entire body became rigid as a rock of surprise, until the other one of Theo's hands positioned itself on the back of your neck. A sound scaped the back of your throat as you started to relax against his lips, and you felt yourself getting lost in the feeling of ecstasy.
Now you were just confused. Your mouth hung open with unsaid words, but your brain seemed to have stopped training because of the stunning words that Theodore provided. He rolled his eyes, and you were beginning to get seriously annoyed at his cryptic behavior. Until he forcefully grabbed the collar of your red and gold clothing and pulled you towards him.
Theodore watched you with hooded eyes, feeling pleasure from only seeing your content face. But he had to pull away because he had been holding his breath ever since this morning.
So he gave a teasing lick with his tongue on your lower lip before he slowly pulled away. You tried to chase him with your lips, but the grip that he had on your shirt prevented you from so desperately locking your lips again.
"So you knew that it was my letters." You mumbled, watching him with slanted eyes.
He chuckled, and you were broken out of your bliss when he released you from his death grip. Both of your heads snapped towards the court when two surprisingly loud voices were heard whooping. Fred and George gave each other a high five again, and you shrank in embarrassment as you realized that your intimate moment with Theodore wasn't as secluded as you thought it was. When you looked at him as again, you realized that you had always cherished him. And that he would always have your soul and heart wrapped around his pinky, imbedded with his silver rings.
"I had no idea." He smiled lightly." As I said, I didn't want to read the letters until I knew that it was from the person that I wanted it to be."
You sighed loudly, your insides melting.
"You are adorable." Happily, you cupped his rosy cheeks and mushed them together to see his cute pout. He tried to struggle out of your grip, and when you let go of his cheeks he was glaring at you. But you didn't let yourself be fooled by his handsome face, instead trusting his blushing ears that he wasn't as opposed. And with a last peck in-between his eyebrows, you flew away as you wanted to get out of your sweaty clothes to later spend time with the young wizard and not cleaning brooms.
--
That's it, I have come to realise my inability to write a One shot under 5k. Bye.