Same Time Next Year?
Theodore Nott x reader
Summary: Theodore Nott would NEVER forget to ask you to be his Valentine (he definitely would). Or the time you were officially the last one to know that you were dating Theodore Nott.
word count: 3.8k
©obsessedwithceleste. all works posted here belong to me and should not be reposted, translated, or copied in any way or form. I do not consent to any of my content being fed to ai bots or programs of any kind.
The month of February had always struck you as something like winter’s purgatory. By this time each year, all the glitz and glamor of the Christmas season and New Years had faded away, but it was still far too early for the giddy anticipation of summer holiday to properly set in. Still bitterly cold—hard, packed snow and ice replaced the once glittering, fluffy white drifts that made you feel as though you were in a winter wonderland rather than the barren tundra. Most students were just trying to make it through.
At least that’s how it felt as you were being tugged across the grey streets of Hogsmeade, you and your friends pulling your coats close, rushing through the doors of Honeydukes to escape the cold.
“Salazar’s frozen ball sack, if it gets any colder we’ll all be frozen solid before we even get the chance to cast a warming spell,” Mattheo mutters, shaking snow from his dark curls.
“You were the one who decided a couple chocolate cauldrons were worth braving this frozen hellscape,” Pansy retorts with a scowl, though her words lack any real bite.
You’re too cold to even think of a jab to send Mattheo’s way, instead you stand shivering to the side, trying to rub some warmth back into your fingertips.
“Warming charms do exist you know,” a deep voice chuckles beside you as a wand is pressed gently against you.
Instantly you feel a wave of heat ripples over you and your cheeks tinge pink. From the heat. Obviously.
“Come on, if we don’t escape now, we could be standing here for hours listening to those two going at it,” Theo adds, smirking as he takes you by the elbow and leads you through the maze of red hearts and pink glitter that now decorated every possible surface in Honeydukes.
Of course there was one holiday placed smack dab in the middle of the rather monotonous month of February. Wrapped in a permanently pinkish haze and oozing out candy coated hearts, Valentine’s Day at Hogwarts was a minefield for rampant teenage hormones and questionably obtained love potions. Overall it was not exactly your idea of a good time. Usually.
Walking through Honeydukes arm in arm with Theodore as he pulled you close and leaned in closer to talk over all the bustling noise however, well, you were beginning to see the appeal. You and Theodore had been friends since first year which basically felt like forever and you would easily consider him one of your closest friends at Hogwarts. Lately though, you’d felt a slight shift between the two of you. Not in any bad way. But in the sense that you suddenly found yourself caring about how you looked when Theo was around, or how your ears perked up more than usual whenever you heard his name.
“Look, if they’re all out of your cauldron cakes, I’m sure I can have one of the elves mail some in the post,” Theo is saying as the two of you browse the seemingly endless shelves.
Your eyes rake over the various colored candy displays, each advertising a different tooth-rotting treat before you finally spot your prize.
“I don’t think you’ll have to worry about bothering your elves Theo. It looks like they just repackaged the normal cauldron cakes and made them heart shaped,” you say, reaching out to grab a few boxes off the shelf. You might as well stock up while you’re there.
The shimmering pink boxes barely make it to your arms however before Theo snatches them from your hands, silently insisting he carry them before adding several more boxes to your stack for himself. You hear him mutter something about how ‘no self respecting bloke lets their partner carry boxes around a shop’, but you brush it off without a second thought. Sometimes Theo got caught up in the old traditions his father had drilled into him so you try not to read so much into things.
“Oh look, they’re having a special on chocolates. Do you think we should get some for the others? And speaking of, how long do you think we can avoid them before they notice we’re gone?” You ask as Theo follows you dutifully through the aisles.
“Not sure. But I am glad I get to spend the afternoon with you. You’re the least exhausting out of everyone after all,” Theo teases, grasping your hand in his.
You roll your eyes at the boy’s flirtatious grin.
“Gee thanks, you really know how to lay the charm on thick,” you respond dryly.
“Don’t have to be charming, it’s just you.”
Despite his good natured smile, you can’t help the small clenching you feel in your chest at his words. Just you. When you reach the counter, you don’t bother fighting it when Theo places a small stack of galleons next to the till, too caught up in your thoughts.
“Come on, if we slip out now I bet we can make it to The Three Broomsticks without any of the others noticing,” Theo says, slipping his hand easily into yours once more and pulling you out of the crowded shop as if his words hadn’t just left your mind spinning down an endless rabbit hole.
You don’t know what to make of the truly massive bouquet of peonies that was currently overtaking the small desk that was shoved into the corner of your dormitory. Sweet, sweet Theodore had stopped by after classes were over for the day to hand deliver them to you. Something about how his mum would have had his head if she were alive and knew Theodore wasn’t spoiling you rotten. Whatever that meant.
On one hand, a lot of thought and effort had clearly gone into choosing the expensive blossoms. They’d always been your favorite and he knew that. And they were almost never in season—they certainly weren’t in season in the middle of February—so he’d clearly had them imported which was no small feat. On the other hand, he’d cited his deceased mother as the reason for the unexpected flowers and that didn’t exactly scream romantic gesture.
Trying to read Theodore was about as straightforward as reading a simple instruction manual except the instructions were upside down, a large chunk was randomly missing, and half the words were written in Italian. You did not speak Italian. And to make matters worse, the very subject of all your confusion was sat in front of you innocently thumbing through his potions homework as if his very existence wasn't sending you in a downwards spiral making you question your entire friendship.
Of course you knew your best friend was attractive. You'd always known that. And if you somehow hadn't noticed how prolifically handsome he was in the past six years, then the miles-long list of classmates who had asked you to put in a good word for them, probably would have keyed you in. Those kinds of requests always came around this time of year and heck, every year you obliged them, but now that you were really thinking about it, you couldn't remember a single time Theo had ever acted upon any of your classmates' advances. And furthermore, you hadn't had anyone approach you yet this year asking you to casually bring them up in conversation or help them slip Theo a love potion. You always turned those classmates away anyway though. Usually with a good hex to go along with them.
Yet here you were, walking through Hogsmeade and receiving flowers from Hogwarts' apparent 'most eligible bachelor' and if anyone asked you where the two of you stood, you'd have no clue how to respond.
"Did you finish your essay already, amore?" Theo asks as he continues to scratch away at the parchment in front of him, his eyes never leaving the page in front of him.
Which is lucky for you as you realize you've been staring at your best friend this entire time.
"Hmm? Oh. Yes!" You squeak out, embarrassed to have been so caught up in your thoughts.
Theo doesn't seem to notice your moment of panic though as he closes his book with a snap before gazing over at you with that lazy grin you knew far too well.
"Good. Then we're right on time to meet the others for dinner," he says, checking the time as his texts magically slot themselves back into his book bag.
Extending his hand, Theo pulls you to your feet, intertwining his fingers with yours and shrugging his bag onto his shoulder before leading you down to the Great Hall. On your way there, Theo talks as if nothing is out of the ordinary, commenting on your upcoming charms exam, the likelihood of Slytherin winning another quidditch cup, what time the two of you should meet for your daily study session tomorrow. The same painfully normal things the two of you always talked about. And why should you be surprised? It was just another normal day after all.
Except Valentine's Day was only a few days away and Theo had just shown up at your door with flowers and little to no explanation of where you stood with each other.
Unfortunately for you, you don't get any more time to stress yourself out as you walk into the Great Hall and over to the rather crowded Slytherin table where your friends were already waiting. The benches already seem to be filled far past their intended capacity, but without blinking an eye, Theo just tugs you down with him placing you squarely on his lap. His arms reach around you as he makes himself a plate and you sit frozen in place, feeling as though your brain was short circuiting.
Either Theo was downright daft or you had somehow managed to miss a chapter in the story or your and Theo's relationship.
"You going to eat mi amore?" Theo asks casually—too casually, as he shovels food into his mouth.
"You have to try the meat pies. They're to die for this year," Pansy says, passing you a plate of the savory pastries.
You can't do anything but blink, feeling like you'd entered a completely separate universe. What was going on? Why did absolutely nothing about today feel normal, yet still completely and utterly—ordinary.
The rest of dinner you try your best to act as if eating dinner while sat on Theo's lap was the most natural thing in the world, but you also can't help but notice that to everyone else, it does seem perfectly natural. Mattheo and Lorenzo are still their most obnoxious selves, Draco is still monologuing to the air in front of him as if people are actually listening, Pansy hasn't looked at you twice as she fills you in on the day's gossip, and Theo—Theo is rubbing circles on your thigh as he talks to Blaise across the table.
As soon as you're finished eating, you practically throw yourself off Theo's lap which earns you a worried look from the boy.
"Are you alright, y/n? You've seemed stressed all day," he says, eyebrows furrowing.
His voice is laced with so much concern you feel your stomach twist with guilt.
"No, I'm fine. Just super tired. And my head has been hurting," you reply quickly, satisfied with your response as it technically wasn't a lie.
Theo rises from his seat now too.
“I’ll walk you back to your dorm then,” he says, taking your hand in his once more.
You want to protest, but the look on his face tells you it won’t do much good as his mind is already made up. After saying goodbye to your friends, the two of you head back the same way you came.
“Are you sure you’re alright, mi amore?” Theo asks once more as soon as the two of you turn into a deserted hall. “You seem distant lately.”
“I’m fine. I just have a lot on my mind,” you sigh, wanting nothing more than to be back in your room with your thoughts to yourself.
But Theo keeps pushing. “Like what?”
“Penelope Clearwater wants to know what your plans are for the fourteenth of February,” you blurt out before you can stop yourself.
It was a lie. Penelope Clearwater had asked nothing of the sort. This year.
But Theo just blinks once before looking at you like you’d grown an extra head.
“Not spending it with her, that’s for sure,” he replies matter of factly. “I don’t know why you do this to yourself. Every year you let people treat you like a carrier pigeon, even though you and I both know I’m not going to give any of them a second glance. You need to stop working yourself up mi amore.”
The two of you walk the rest of the way in silence, though Theo squeezes onto your hand every so often as if to remind you that he’s there.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” he says when you finally reach your door.
You just nod as he pulls you into a hug, tucking your head under his chin as he holds you. As strange as your day had been, you can't help but melt into him, feeling at home in his arms. You almost want to tell him not to leave. But you don’t. You really needed to figure out where the two of you were at. And if he wasn’t going to tell you, you were going to have to work up the courage to ask.
"Well hello to you too," Pansy says with a huff as you plop down beside her on the sofa, causing several of the photo cards she had spread out to flutter to the floor.
"Whatcha doin?" you ask, intrigued by the little squares that Pansy seemed to have organized meticulously.
"Miss Parkinson is deciding which poor bloke will be her Valentine tomorrow," Lorenzo drawls from the other side of the table.
Pansy glares at the brunette sat across from her before snatching one of the cards and tearing it to shreds.
"Oh no. Don't do that," Enz monotones without an ounce remorse in his voice, his name fluttering to the ground.
"Ignore him," Pansy sniffs. “Look. I have a whole system see? Names, houses, amount of generational wealth, everything important is on these little cards here. Then I sort out the Gryffindors and anyone with a date already and keep filtering them all from there.”
You look at the piles of cards scattered across the table and can’t help but be a bit impressed.
“Can I see who you’ve got left?” You ask, genuinely curious to see who Pansy had whittled her choices down to.
Lorenzo scoffs.
“Why would you want to see what Pansy has cooked up? It’s pure madness I’ll tell you. And it’s not as if you need any of those silly cards yourself.”
Now it’s your turn to glare at the boy. Pansy had clearly been right to shred his card to pieces.
“Well why not?” You retort, sticking your chin out at him stubbornly.
Now though, even Pansy is looking at you confused.
“I mean, probably because you’ve got Nott wrapped around your finger. Any bloke would have to be downright stupid to encroach on his territory. Specially on Valentine’s Day and all that,” Enzo replies, looking rather bored.
“Wha- I’m not his territory!” You scoff belligerently, frown deepening as Enz picks at the sofa cushion.
“I’m quite certain Theodore would disagree.”
“It doesn’t matter if he agrees. He’s not my boyfriend!”
Pansy arches an eyebrow.
“Are you sure?” She asks.
“Am I sur- What do you mean am I sure? What kind of question is that? Of course I’m sure! I think I would remember if Theo had ever asked me out, he’s my best friend for Salazar’s sake.”
You watch as Pansy and Lorenzo make knowing eye contact before they both turn back to you.
"Awfully defensive for someone who's so sure-" Lorenzo remarks before Pansy cuts him off.
“You should talk to Theodore,” She states simply before turning back to her cards.
You want to argue more, but Enz turns away as well. Bugger. You let out a loud sigh to make your frustration with the two of them known before standing up and leaving them behind. You knew they were going to tell you to just go talk to Theo, but you had been sort of avoiding him the past few days for exactly this reason.
Maybe avoid was too strong a word. You weren't straight up avoiding the boy, but you definitely weren't as inseparable as you usually were. And if you'd pretended not to see or hear him a few times as he approached, instead opting to dart off down a different corridor, well, no one could prove it.
You just felt so annoyed. Everyone seemed to know more about your relationship with Theo than you did, and while the reasonable, mature part of you knew that you should just talk to him, your more stubborn side wanted to make Theo solve this mess on his own.
As you make your way down a seemingly empty corridor, just thinking about the boy seems to have magically conjured him out of thin air as he appears at the end of the hallway looking lost in thought. As soon as he spots you though, you see him visibly relax. Not having anywhere to run this time, you resign yourself to having this conversation much sooner than you would have preferred.
“There you are, mia bella. Where have you been all night?” He asks, striding towards you and making to pull you into a hug.
You take a step back, feeling rage bubble inside you. All your pent up agitation boiling just under the surface. When you don’t respond, Theo frowns and his eyes turn pleading.
“What’s wrong amore, are you mad at me?”
You can’t hold it in anymore. The tip toeing around one another, the side stepping around the real conversation that needed to be had, it was just too much.
“No! I just—Stop looking at me like that! And stop buying me chocolates and flowers. Stop calling me love, stop calling me beautiful, stop trying to constantly hold my hand. Just stop.” You blurt, words flowing out of your mouth with malice.
You expect Theo to be mad, or maybe hurt, but he just freezes—blinking at you for a moment.
“Why?”
You can’t help but scoff. He asks why?
“Because you’re not my boyfriend. And I don’t need you constantly reminding me of that by doing all the things a boyfriend would do.”
“I could be. Your boyfriend.”
You might hate him. He was your best friend and you loved him, but you might actually hate him. How was he so casual about this? How could he act like this whole conversation didn’t have the potential to ruin your entire friendship.
“No Theodore. You couldn’t be. Because that would require an actual conversation, which is something you seem to have forgotten.”
Theo tilts his head, considering.
“Do you want me to be your boyfriend?”
Your heart can’t help but flutter at Theo’s words, at the idea, but at the same time he was just so damn frustrating.
“Will you stop over-simplifying everything?” You ask, exasperation clear in your voice.
“Will you stop over-complicating everything?” He teases back, having the nerve to look rather pleased with himself.
You hadn’t noticed until now, but he had also gotten significantly closer as the two of you argued, now only inches away as he smiled that stupid, charming grin down at you. The one he used whenever he was in trouble, but knew he would get away with it.
"It's not over complicated to want a little bit of clarity on whatever our relationship is," you grumble, realizing your back was against the wall.
"Well then let me be perfectly clear. I would like to be your boyfriend, and I would also very much like to kiss you now. Any opposition?"
Theo's words send a shiver down your spine. You weren't actually expecting such straightforwardness from him. And you certainly weren't expecting him to be looking down at you like he was ready to devour you. When sound fails to leave your lips, you watch as Theo leans forward ever so slowly as if daring you to pull back. He gets closer and closer until your noses are brushing and then—you had to be dreaming. Your eyes flutter shut and his lips on yours are soft and warm and you feel like you might be melting. It doesn't quite seem real when his hands grab hold of your waist, pulling you into him.
You're not sure how long the two of you would have stayed there, pressed against one another, but a loud, awkward cough pulls you back to reality. Glancing behind you, you see a very red and very scandalized portrait glaring daggers at you.
"Oh. Sorry," you mutter, turning a bit red yourself.
Theo does not look sorry. In fact he looks rather smug as he continues to hold you in his arms.
“Now that this is all sorted, am I allowed to take you out for Valentine’s or do I need your permission for that too?” He asks smugly, ignoring the indignant portrait all together.
You roll your eyes, giving him a light shove off of you, but he’s quick to wrap an arm around your shoulder instead as the two of you make your way back to your common room.
“I’ll see if I can make time for you in my very busy schedule on the condition that you explain to me how I came to be the last person to know that we were apparently in a relationship,” you reply.
Theo now at least has the decency to look a bit embarrassed.
“It may have been a slight oversight on my part,” he mumbles, tugging you closer as you walk.
“A slight oversight?”
“We’ve basically been dating for the past two years amore.”
“That’s simply not true.”
Theo looks down at you with a raised eyebrow.
“Who have you spent Valentine’s Day with the past two years again?”
“That doesn’t prove anything.”
“Sure it doesn’t mia bella.”
