When your aunt Minerva McGonagall had told you that only a handful of 8th years would come back from the war you thought she meant like half your year. You realized you were very wrong when only 14 people had walked into the great hall with you. Because of the events of the war interrupting your lovely 6th and 7th years, McGonagal initiated the 8th-year system for all of the 7th years affected by the war. For this year all previous 7th years would be invited back to complete their Hogwarts education, they’d stay in their separate tower and bond with the other 8th years around them. Hypothetically this was a great idea., for the kids who had friends. You, Y/n McGonagal, had two friends. Neville Longbottom (your best friend’s fiancee) and Luna Lovegood (your best friend) neither of whom were returning for their 8th year.
The feast came to an end as did your thoughts about the minimal amount of 8th years there were and all the students rose to go to their dorms. As 8th year prefect you were at the front of the group leading your 14 peers to the tower that you would share. You walked quickly ahead of the group so you didn’t have to stop and make small talk with anyone. Not that anyone would have tried anyway. You thought that maybe this was the year you’d make some friends but from the other end of the 8th year table you could hear Hermione Granger and her two merry idiots grumbling about the haunted freak during the feast. When the group finally made it to the tower door you stopped to show them how to use it and since you lived with your aunt at Hogwarts you came up with the password and designed the common room. You hoped that this would help aid your quest for friends but at this point, there was only one way to find out so stopping carefully you turned towards your peers and cleared your throat.
“H-hi hi I’m Y/n McGonagal and I will be your 8th-year prefect. I’m sure McGonagal has alerted you that since we are 8th years she would like us to have more freedom and she has given us our tower-“ You babbled in your thick Irish accent hoping people could still understand you through the stuttering. Suddenly you were interrupted by a deep voice in the back that you could recognize anywhere.
“Do we have assigned dorm mates?” Theo Nott. The boy you had been pining over since the 1st year when he helped you get your luggage up on the train. You had been so scared and so alone and he helped you without hesitation. Your childhood crush had just interrupted you. You didn’t know whether to scream or cry. Or both.
“Oh yes! I was just getting to that, sorry. She’s given us our tower and the chance to pick our dorm mates. And on top of that she has given us little to no rules which I can also explain in a second…let me just find…the paper…….I know it’s here” You poked and prodded in your pockets till you finally found it and brought it out.
“4 rules. That’s it.” You paused to catch your breath a second and then continued. “Rule number one is simple, no outsiders in the house. As 8th years fresh out of a lifelong war I am assuming that most if not all of us would like to be able to have a space of our own without the drama. Basically, this means if you’ve gotta shag a fuckin’ younger do it elsewhere.” You got a few laughs for that comment and a pointed look at one of Nott’s friends you believed to be Mattheo Riddle.
“Rule number two is that as long as we keep in check any other prefects or even the head boy and girl cannot enforce a rule on us. Which leads also to the third rule.” You paused trying to catch your breath.
“No curfew.” You hear a few whoops and hollers and an excited yes let out from your peers but take no mind to it. You’re still watching Nott’s reaction to everything. And to your surprise he’s watching you right back. You avert your eyes as soon as eye contact is made and clear your throat before you continue.
“And finally rule 4 is just that if we skip more than 4 classes we will not be allowed to graduate since we already missed our chance last year...” You spoke the final rule and then trailed off.
You looked up finally from your paper and up at the students in front of you. 8 Slytherins, 3 Gryfindors, 2 Ravenclaws, and then you, the Hufflepuff. You knew all the Slytherins as they were Nott and his friends, and the Gryfindors were the golden savior trio, and you knew Cho Chang from Ravenclaw but you didn’t know of the Ravenclaw boy that had come back. You knew them. This was going to pose an issue if you wanted to make friends. How the fuck were you supposed to make friends with people who thought you were the haunted freak. You’ve heard at least 8 of your peers call you that name. You snapped out of it when you heard someone call your name.
“Sorry, what was that?” You asked quietly, suddenly realizing all eyes were still on you.
“Are you going to let us in Miss Prefect? You’re the only one with the password.” Enzo Berkshire. You’d know that voice anywhere. He was the nicest Slytherin in your opinion, the only one who didn’t get scared off by your lunar predicament.
“Oh, hexes! Yes, sorry!” You paused for a second trying to remember the password you came up with.
“Pygmy puff!” You shouted and the door flew open to reveal a cozy common room mixed with decorations from all the houses.
There was silence for a minute as everyone walked through and looked around. It was cozy like the Hufflepuff common room with a big fireplace like Gryffindor, a window wall for Slytherin, and plenty of books and access to the astronomy tower for Ravenclaw. It was a little hectic and crazy but it was their new home and theirs alone to make it what they could. The silence was broken again by Cho Chang.
“So should we choose our new roommates?” Excitedly everyone hurried to pair up with a roommate and you just stood there lost. You didn’t have your friends and you didn’t want to be the random girl who asked for a roommate.
Suddenly the room was much more empty as roommates excitedly hurried to their room and you looked around for the one person left stuck with you. To your surprise, Theo Nott was standing behind you.
“Nott right?” He shook his head in confirmation even though you already knew that was him. Of course, you knew. A moment’s silence passed through the two of you before you spoke again, trying to break the silent tension. “So how’d you get stuck with me then?”
“Hm?” Theo Nott, ever the quiet mysterious man.
“Rooming with me…I’m guessing I wasn’t your first choice considering your friends all came back this year too...?” You were too shy to look up and too stupid to look down so you settled for his chest as he was tall and closer than he was before. You hadn’t even noticed him step forward.
“Oh. No. I wanted to.” Theo spoke quietly. “Mattheo was a bad roommate growing up, a bit of a slag. And the other boys are either too loud or rooming with their girls..” You quickly realized that’s the most words you’ve ever heard him speak in your whole time at Hogwarts. You giggled and smiled up at him, finally looking at his face.
“That makes sense” You paused not knowing what to say but you were cut off by Theo speaking up again.
“How did you get stuck with me?” As soon as he said it you broke out into a fit of giggles. He was asking you how you got stuck with him. Never in your wildest imagination fit you think you’d hear that today.
“Sorry for laughing, I just-“ Giggle. “Well, I-just-“ Giggle. “I just don’t believe you could ask me such a ridiculous question” Theo looked genuinely confused, you’ll give him that. And that alone made you wanna melt. Was he being serious?
“I wasn’t joking. How did the bubbly Hufflepuff get stuck with a grumpy Slytherin?” Theo asks with one eyebrow raised, staring straight into your eyes now.
“I can’t believe you’re being serious. I know you know at least a little bit about me. A couple of your friends do…” Theo gave you a confused face so you continued. “Hogwarts resident freak girl? I know you’ve heard them call me that or something along the lines of it. I swear you probably have too. And I don’t really care you know but I just know you did it and it’s okay I don’t care but I just wanted to let you know that is who you’re stuck rooming with and all tha-“
“They don’t call you a freak. Or haunted.” Theo paused before going on. “I never let them.” With that Theo ended the conversation by turning in the other direction and walking up to your shared dorm. You stood there alone in the common room for 15 minutes before fully registering what had happened.
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The first week of being Theo’s roommate was great. He was quiet, and considerate, and started conversations with you enough that you felt as if you could consider him a friend. It was when you started struggling in DADA though when you fully started appreciating your wonderful roommate. Theo had walked around the castle for 1 whole hour trying to find you to bring you dinner. In the week you had been roommates Theo learned many things about you. His favorites were that you slept with three jellycat stuffed animals every night, loved the color pink, and most importantly, never missed a chance for food. When 20 minutes had passed during dinner he immediately knew something was up and wrapped you up a plate with a warming spell on it. 1 hour was how long it took to find you. And when he did Salazar was it a sight to behold.
There you sat in a dimly lit corner of the library banging your head against the table as you got yet another DADA question wrong. You were so sleep-deprived and so frustrated. You had always been good at every other school subject, extremely good. Some might say a teacher’s pet level is good even. The only class you ever struggled with was DADA. You were extremely sleep-deprived and you hadn’t eaten all day because the first test of the semester was coming up and you had decided you had to make a good impression. You were so tired you didn’t even notice Theo walk over to you until he cleared his throat 5 minutes after sitting down. You jumped and threw your hand over your chest but Theo just let out a chuckle and then pushed you to the plate of food.
“What’s this?” You asked stupidly. You realized that it was a dinner plate you just were surprised he got you food.
“Dinner.” His signature pause followed his answer. “You weren’t there so I got worried, brought you some food”
“Oh Theo that’s so sweet but didn’t dinner end an hour ago?” You asked with a confused expression.
“Yes, I was looking for you for a while.” You were shocked. Yes, you thought that you and Theo were becoming friends but you didn’t know he liked you that much. Not enough to bring you dinner or go looking for you anyway. You thanked him profusely before deciding it was time for a break and pushing your textbooks aside to eat. As you were eating Theo decided to look at the books you’re using and read through them. Almost half an hour passed before you were done eating and the two of you had sat in silence the whole time anyway. Once you were done you decided to speak up.
“Theo?” You spoke quietly as the two of you were still in the library.
“Hmm?” Theo’s favorite response was back into play.
“Why’d you uh why’d you bring me dinner?” When you were met with an amused look you continued. “Not that I didn’t appreciate it, I really really did. It just doesn’t seem like something you’d do since you don’t really like that many people and you tend to not talk to people that much I’m kind of a loser so I don’t really get why you hang out with m-“
“You’re not a loser. You’re my friend. I like you, so I brought you dinner.” He said it so matter of fact you didn’t dare question it, just smiling in response you decided you’d change the subject.
“Are you any good at DADA?” Your friend just nodded in response and switched to your side of the table to help you study for the test.
—————————————————————
It took 2 months for Theo to convince you to start hanging out with his friends. You were perfectly content with your one friend being your sweet Slytherin roommate but he was convinced that everyone should know just how wonderful you are. So here you are on the verge of an anxiety attack in the 3 broomsticks waiting for Theo and his friends. You should’ve taken Theo’s offer to go with him and have his friends meet the two of you there. But you didn’t wanna be a pain so you agree to go alone, big fucking mistake you realized. Your regret was enhanced as you realized they were running late and apparently the Ravenclaw boy in 8th year did too.
“Sweetheart, you all alone?” He slurred. Drunk at 3 pm? Bold idea Mr. Ravenclaw, bold fucking idea.
“Oh uh no. Just waiting for my friends to get here.” You gave a tight-lipped smile and tried to make eye contact with Madam Rosmerta so she could get rid of him but she was preoccupied at the bar.
“Why don’t you let me keep you some company sweetheart? We both know you don’t have any fuckin’ friends.” His voice was laced with venom and so were his intents you realized as he swung his arm onto your waist. He sat for 30 seconds before you felt him flung off of the booth and onto the floor and you were clutching your knees to your chest with your eyes squeezed closed.
“What the bloody fuck?” An angry slur came from the boy on the floor as he tried to get back up but another pound was heard as he hit the floor once more and your eyes shot open.
Standing above the slimy git was your apparent savior Theo Nott with his foot on his chest and his face up close to the Ravenclaws saying something violently quiet. Whatever Theo said sobers the Ravenclaw up quickly and sends him running out of the 3 broomsticks looking like he just shit himself with a shiny new black eye and a bleeding lip. Theo turns to you and grabs your face to inspect you as if he’s a worried mother and when he realizes you’re okay he lets out a small sigh and turns to his friends who are staring at the two of you behind him. Clearing his throat he looked between you and his friends for a couple of minutes before thinking of something to say.
“Well uhm this is Y/n. Y/n, my friends” Theo’s voice was shaky which you’ve come to learn either means he’s angry or nervous. His friends quickly picked up on that as well and spoke up for him.
“Sorry Nott is being so odd, he’s not usually like this.” Pansy Parkinson spoke up this time, but you already knew this wasn’t what he was usually like. “Oh, but you probably already knew that. I’m Pansy Parkinson. This is Mattheo Riddle, Blaise Zabini, Enzo Berkshire, Draco Malfoy, Astoria Greengrass, and Daphne Greengrass.” One by one each of them smiled or shook your hand in greeting and once Pansy was done they all slid into the booth. Theo was on your left and Pansy was on your right.
His friends were extremely kind and happy to give up any embarrassing information on your roommate that they could but after a good amount of time, they managed to start conversations amongst themselves. When Theo noticed this he took the chance to start a side conversation with you.
“Are you okay, love?” Theo paused to make sure he was being quiet enough. “I’m sorry if I overreacted, I just couldn’t handle seeing that git make you uncomfortable.”
“It’s okay, Teddy, I was glad someone could tell I needed help.” You whispered back but not quiet enough as his friends all turned at the noise of the nickname.
“Teddy?” Mattheo’s was smug. “I called him Teddy once as a joke and he fucking hexed me six ways from-” Mattheo was cut off by Theo throwing a silencing charm. His friends all start laughing at Theo’s put-out expression but you just look up at him with a smile. He did think of you as a friend.
—————————————————————
The day you started to believe Theo liked you back was the day everyone was leaving for winter break. All of your newfound Slytherin friends were leaving for Christmas and since Theo is friends with them you figured he’d be leaving too. But to your surprise, you came back to the dorm after the train had left and found Theo napping. At first, you panicked thinking he had missed the train but then you realized that Theo Nott doesn’t miss anything. He meant to stay. Which meant you might not know as much about him as you thought. Theo woke up a couple of hours later to you coming out of your shared bathroom singing a muggle Christmas song. He sat up slowly very amused by your antics and the creak of the bed made you snap your head over to him.
“Oh shit, sorry Teddy. Did I wake you up?” Theo just shook his head no in response so you continued. “Can I ask you something?”
“Of course you can.”
“Why didn’t you go home for the break? I don’t mean to prod I just figured since your friends were coming home you’d be going home too.”
“Hmm” He paused and you thought that would be all you got but he continued a minute later. “I don’t have anywhere to go home to. My father is in Azkaban and my mother passed away. Why didn’t you go home?”
“My parents are both dead from the war, killed by death eaters. I live with my aunt now and since she’s headmaster there was no point in leaving to go back to our empty apartment.”
“I’m sorry. About your parents.”
“No need to be Teds. I’m sorry about your mum.”
“No need to be, lovey.” He shot back at you with a small smile. “Since we’re both staying, go to Hogsmeade with me in an hour.”
The two of you were ready in half an hour so you left early. You skipped lunch in the great hall and headed straight to Hogsmeade for lunch and shopping. The two of you ate a quick lunch, mostly quiet except for the occasional Theo comment about a passerby or an idea from you about a gift. When lunch was done the two of you headed to go shop. Your first stop was the book store where you both got something for Blaise, then you headed to the quidditch store for Mattheo and Draco, next was the art store for Enzo and Astoria, and you both finished your shopping list with getting gifts for your aunt, Pansy, and Daphne at a new clothing store that had opened up. Then Theo decided to drag you into Honeydukes before he talked you into dinner.
“Honeydukes, Teddy? We already got everyone’s gifts.” You questioned with a confused smile.
“Yes, but I’ve run out of your chocolate.” He responded as if it was the most simple thing in the whole world.
“My chocolate?”
“Yes love, your chocolate. The crunchy dark chocolate one. I keep it in the dorm so you can have it whenever you want”
“That was you? I thought the house elves were dropping it off for me. That’s very sweet Teds but I don’t want you wasting money on me like that, especially not for chocolate honey.”
“You’re never a waste. I care for you deeply, that’s never going to be a waste to me.” He walked away with that. Like it was the most simple thing in the world. And it struck you then, he said he cared for you. Cared for you deeply.
One week later was Christmas day and you were planning on spending it lounging around eating food. Not planning on receiving any gifts as your aunt and you had done that the night before and you didn’t know anyone else who you would be getting a present from. But you were presently surprised when you woke up to Theo decorating a tree in your dorm at 8 am.
“Teddy? What are you doing?” You asked groggily.
“What does it look like, love?”
“Looks like you’re decorating a tree, Teds. Sorry, I should be more specific. Why are you decorating a tree in our dorm?”
“For Christmas.” When he noticed your confused expression he continued. “Did you think that I was not going to do something for Christmas?”
You didn’t know what to say so you stayed quiet until he sat down with you in bed. He scooted close and put his hand on yours. You sat there together in silence for a while before he spoke up again.
“Why do they call you the freak?”
“What?”
“Everyone around school used to call you the freak, why did they call you that?”
“I’m a werewolf. By blood. My parents were both werewolves. I don’t know how they found out but they did in the first year and they all spread it around like bullies. After that, no one wanted to be my friend. No one wanted to talk to me. I was so alone for years even after people forgot about my abnormality they called me the freak just cuz I wasn’t like them.”
“I did.”
“Huh?”
“I wanted to talk to you. I wanted to be your friend.” Theo paused for a second and took a breath. “I always liked you when we were kids. You were pretty and smart and always kind to people even when they were so mean. I just- ugh I’ve always been shy. I have a very hard time expressing myself. My dad never let me talk much as a kid so I learned to shut myself up and so I got too scared to talk to you. That’s why I jumped at the chance to be your roommate. That’s why I spend every waking second wanting to be with you. It’s why I got you a tree and a fuckin million gifts for Christmas because I knew it was your favorite holiday.”
“Teddy, that’s the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me” Your eyes were quite literally tearing up at his little rant.
“I wanna be the only one that makes you say that. I wanna be yours, love.” He looked away for a second and then turned back. “Let me take you on a date tomorrow. Please. I’ll beg.”
“Oh, Teds.” You paused to make it seem like you were saying no but you started giggling instead. “Of course, I’ll go on a date with you honey.”
Theo tackled you into a hug and kissed all over your face. Whispering sweet nothings into your ear until you insisted you get up and open presents. Theo’s friends had all sent you gifts as well. The Greengrass sisters had gifted you a book on astronomy and the moon phases, Pansy had given you a very comfy fluffy cable-knit sweater, Enzo and Blaise gifted you a shared gift of a very expensive handbag, and Mattheo had given you a Slytherin crest locket with a note making fun of Theo.
You couldn’t remember the last time you felt this loved in your life. Your parents were kindhearted people but they didn’t pay you much attention. Luna and Neville had always been close with you but never close enough for Christmas gifts. This love was overwhelming.
“Thank you.” You spoke into the silence of the room looking up at Theo whose arms you were currently wrapped in.
“What for, love?”
“Everything. Your friends, Christmas, loving me.” Theo smiled at you for that comment. Nobody had ever thanked him for that. For caring. But he also didn’t know the last time he had cared about someone like this. If he even ever had.
“I do love you. A lot.”
“I love you too, Teddy.”