ivy | theo nott

The Hogwarts Express rolled along through the snow covered fields as Leah and Terry tore into their second chocolate frogs, splaying the cards out in front of them on their bench to compare. Grace sat on the opposite end of the compartment, lost in the falling snow, barely visible at their speed.

"Grace, do not interrupt us. Let us explain."

Grace looked down to the parchment in her hands, the nearly illegible calligraphic letter.

"This is good for us. For our family, for you? Imagine... being a Malfoy? Never having to work, never having to worry about money-"

"I don't care about any of that!" Grace finally found her voice, though it broke on her last word, warm tears flooding into the corners of her eyes. "Mum, I can't... This is absurd!  Draco doesn't want to marry me. We're fifteen years old-"

"The Malfoys obviously think fifteen is plenty old to be discussing this sort of thing, and we couldn't be more in agreement." Her mother practically hissed. "The very idea that you're even trying to put up a fight about this, Grace, I can't believe you."

"We're not even dating! We are just friends! Just barely friends!" Grace pleaded, scanning between her parents, remembering the way that Draco had been so distant on New Years Eve. Was this the reason? Was he so upset by the idea of marrying her that he no longer wanted anything to do with her at all?

"We are a laughing stock."  Valerie sneered, snatching the letter back from Grace's hands. "Ever since your uncle married that muggle-" Grace's eyes flew to her father's face, his gaze dropping to the floor.

"Mum, don't-"

"Enough." Her father cut in, stepping forward between the women. "You're marrying the Malfoy boy. It's already been decided, and that's the last I want to hear of it." He looked to Grace, his features set, his mouth in a thin line. "You like him. You're friends? That's as good a match as you can get."

"Grace!" Her eyes pulled from the window to where Leah and Terry had returned to their own bench, Leah's eyes wide as she stared at her friend.

"Sorry... What was that?" Grace stuttered, turning to face her friends and trying, and failing, to push yesterday's memory from her head.

"What is with you?" Terry asked, cocking his head to one side as he surveyed the blonde before him. "Did something happen to you at that snake party?"

Grace's stomach fell. Terry hated them all so much, and while she didn't agree with him on this, she couldn't even imagine his face when she told him she was...

What was she? Engaged? Betrothed? Her stomach squirmed.

"Good God, woman, do we need to call a nurse?" Leah asked, kicking Grace in the shin and smiling at the slight hiss of pain. "There. All better."

"You can tell us if there's something wrong." Terry said after a slight glare in Leah's direction. "You know that, right?"

"Course." Grace answered, forcing a small smile to her face. "Just tired is all."

"So really... no midnight kiss? Nothing?" Leah pressed, ignoring Terry's eye roll at the subject.

"No, Leah." Grace muttered, slouching back against the chair and trying not to let her mind wander to that night. To Draco's eyes glued to the window to avoid her. To Theo's fingers on her leg... Or the way he had looked at her as the clock struck midnight. "Nothing."

"You don't really have to act so disappointed about that, you know?" Terry added, and Grace's lips pulled into a small smile as the three of them laughed.

Another day. She would tell them another day. Tomorrow maybe. Or maybe never. Maybe this whole thing was just a huge waste of time and her parents would get over it by summer holiday. Nothing was happening now, at the very least, and as she pulled her legs up to her chest, leaning against the frosty window pane, she let her eyes fall shut and tried to push the idea of a marriage from her mind completely.

➺

Grace piled up her books and muttered a thank you to Professor McGonagall along with the rest of the class as they all scurried for the hallway, heads pounding. It had only been two days back, but in preparation for the upcoming OWL's, the professors had made sure to pack as much information into each lesson as they could.

"Merlin, I'm starving." Leah grumbled along with Grace's stomach as the three Ravenclaws started down the stairs towards the Great Hall.

"Felt like that was never going to end. We're going to need to start study group back up sooner than I thought at this rate."

"Oh, Terry, please don't stress me already. In my head, it's still Christmas, and it will remain that way for the next seven to fourteen business days." She pressed a finger in each ear, as if that could block out her friend's words as they stepped into the bustling Entrance Hall.

"Well, if it isn't my favorite group of Ravens." The familiar voice drawled from behind them, Grace spinning practically into Theo's chest, her face flushing as she stumbled backwards and looked up into the bright green eyes.

"It's an Eagle, Nott." Leah answered, Terry remaining pointedly silent, "They didn't teach you that first year?"

"Must have missed that day." He shrugged, a lazy smirk playing on his lips as he walked alongside the group through the oversized double doors. "Where've you been, Gracie? Avoiding us?"

"Hmm?" Grace shook her head at once, pasting on a confused expression. In truth, she had very much been avoiding all of the Slytherin since she stepped onto the train back to school. Mostly in an effort to not have to face Draco, but also for fear that the entire house would know the news by now, though judging from Theo's attitude, everything seemed perfectly normal.

"Want to come have lunch with us?" Theo asked, eyes flickering towards Leah and Terry behind her. "All of you." He nodded his head slightly towards the Slytherin table where a few recognizable faces had begun to appear, Enzo and Daphne facing away from them, Draco's eyes glued to his plate, head slouched against one wrist.

"Another time, Theo... We've actually got to... We've got this project-"

"Project?" Leah's eyebrows furrowed, though Terry seemed just fine going along with Grace's lie.

"We're in all of the same classes, Grace." Theo dropped his voice to a near whisper, though Grace took a few steps back and offered him a quick wave, pulling Leah after Terry back into the Entrance Hall.

"I guess I didn't make it clear how starving I was?" Leah muttered.

"Why are you avoiding them?" Terry asked once they were out of ear shot at last.

"I'm not..." Grace lied, and Leah scoffed.

"Right. I can hear your stomach growling from here, Grace. And two weeks ago you would have been elated to eat lunch with Malfoy. What gives?"

"Just... It's hard to explain, and..." Grace blinked furiously, not looking to her friends as she spoke. "Something weird's happened and I'm just not really looking forward to seeing him."

"Who?" Terry asked, coming to a stop in the empty corridor.

"Malfoy?" Leah guessed correctly. Grace nodded.

"Tell us what he did. I told you he was a prick, Grace."

"He didn't do anything..." She groaned, pressing two fingers to her temple, feeling her headache worsen. "It's... my parents. Our parents."

"Our parents?" Terry's face was blank as he tried to piece together her words.

"No, my parents and the Malfoy's."

"You're not making any sense." Leah whispered, as if speaking to a mental patient.

"I'm sorry." Grace sighed, leaning against the stone wall behind her and looking to her friends. "I'll tell you. But you can't freak out. And you can't tell anyone. It seems like he hasn't... and I don't even know for sure if he knows, because he was acting like he did, but he hasn't said anything..."

"Well, yeah, you're avoiding him, how could he say any-"

"Oh, my God, spit it out!" Terry ordered.

"Apparently, my parents and the Malfoy's feel that Draco and I would make a good... match." She struggled to find the right words, Leah and Terry's faces vacant. "And they've agreed that we're... to be married..."

Leah let out a noise that was neither a laugh or a scoff, her mouth hanging open.

"An arranged marriage?"

"I said you couldn't freak out." Grace shushed.

"I'm sorry, how are you not?" She argued.

"I am."

"Grace..." Terry trailed off, as if unsure where his sentence was going.

"I know."

"You're fifteen!"

"I know."

"He's..."

"I know."

"You don't know what I was going to say." He bit back.

"A Slytherin? A blood supremacist?"

"A billionaire?" Leah added and Grace didn't even try to fight the eye roll.

"You're worried about the money right now?"

"Not worried, I suppose." She muttered, throwing both hands up in surrender at Grace's glare. "Alright! Kidding!"

"You can't get married at fifteen. I mean, really, I don't even know if they would let you-"

"We're not. Supposedly, we'll announce our engagement this summer... start planning the wedding... I would guess it would be after we finish school."

"Okay, so we have some time to think-" Leah started.

"Announce what engagement? He hasn't asked you anything, has he? That seems like a major plot point here!" Terry's voice was too loud, even for the empty hallways.

"You guys are making me more stressed out." Grace whined, pushing her hands through the hair at her temples.

"Okay, okay. We're sorry, no more..." Leah assured her, shooting Terry a meaningful glance that clearly read 'shut up.' The three of them continued down the hallway, Leah ignoring the hunger pangs in her stomach. "Merlin, Grace, I knew I hated your mum, but it really does get worse with every passing year." She threw an arm over Grace's shoulder.

"I'll grab us some food from the Great Hall... Meet you guys in the tower?" Terry asked, his gaze seeming to go right through them as they nodded and muttered a quick thanks, starting up the staircase.

➺

"Gracie." A voice hissed from the shadows a second before Theo stepped around the corner, a smirk lighting up his face as Grace slapped a hand over her mouth to stop the scream.

"Nott, honestly." She groaned, side-stepping the tall Slytherin, heading towards the stairwell, though he caught her in seconds.

"I can't help it." He chuckled, "Why are you so jumpy?"

"Because a certain idiot steps out of the shadows in dark hallways." She answered, pointedly, hugging her books tighter to her chest as she walked. She didn't mind walking with Theo, in fact, she had honestly missed him. She was even starting to miss Lorenzo, though the thought of Draco accompanied both of them any time they slipped into her mind, which would result in her spending the next hour trying to calm herself down.

Though she knew she couldn't avoid it forever. Eventually, something was going to have to happen. Yet, selfishly, she continued to avoid the blonde boy, despite noticing the way his eyes searched for hers in the Great Hall, the way he tried to rush after her during any of their classes. Still, she figured it was a good sign that nobody seemed to have heard any inkling of engagement news. Maybe she was reading into it all too much.

"Are you alright?" Theo's voice pulled her from her thoughts, her eyes snapping up to meet his, the low light from the stained glass windows beside them making his already dark eyes seem almost black. "You seem... sad."

"Not sad. Just... tired. My head hurts." She answered. It wasn't technically a lie. She's had very few hours since arriving back at school where her head hadn't been pounding.

"Why are you avoiding me?"

"I'm not... why do you think that?" She stuttered, slowing down as they neared the stairwell.

"We've barely spoken since New Years... I've seen you turn and run the other way when you see me in the halls... you rush out of all of our classes?" He began listing and her heart sank slightly. She hadn't meant to hurt anyone's feelings, and in fact, was surprised that the Slytherin has noticed her absence at all.

"Oh, Theo... I haven't been avoiding you, I promise. I've just been busy, I'm working on some extra projects for-"

"Grace!" The voice was low, yet it was unmistakeable. Even after not having heard it for nearly two weeks, she knew it at once. The corners of Theo's lips sank into a scowl as they both turned to face Malfoy, hurrying down the dim corridor towards them, as if knowing Grace would run off any second.

"I should get going-"

"What are you talking about?" Theo hissed, obviously trying to keep his voice down as Malfoy drew near and reaching for Grace's arm a second too late.

"Grace, stop!" Draco's voice was demanding, yet his face was sincere, almost begging. "You can't avoid me forever. We're eventually going to have to talk... You know... Classes? Holidays? The alter?"

Grace's foot had barely landed on the first step, her fingers faltering in their grip on the banister as his words rang through the empty hallway. She could practically feel her heart thumping against her rib cage.

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Theo's voice was practically a growl now, though neither of them were paying him any attention as Grace slowly turned back to face the boys.

"I..." She trailed off, not having any plan for the rest of her sentence as Theo scanned wildly over his two friends. "I didn't know what to say about it, I-"

"Neither do I." Draco sighed. "But we've got to eventually..."

"How about you start now? What is going on?" Theo cut in again and Grace finally glanced over to the brunette, his eyes now glowing brighter than they had been before.

"You didn't tell them?" Grace whispered, as if Theo wasn't there, hanging on to every word.

"You didn't seem like you wanted people to know." Draco shrugged.

"Somebody tell me something before I hex you both. What alter?"

Draco's lips pulled into a tight, sarcastic smile.

"Oh, Theodore, haven't you heard? Mummy and Daddy have decided Grace is going to be a Malfoy."

Grace had never seen Theo look stunned before, his usually laid-back, care-free demeanor was all but lost now, his face paling as he took in Malfoy's words, eyes flashing to Grace's as if she could tell him it was all a joke.

"You don't mean... You're not engaged." He shook his head slowly, his gaze flickering from her eyes to her left hand.

"I suppose not technically." Draco agreed, his tone so sarcastic, Grace wondered how he even had the energy to find humor in any of this.

"That doesn't make any sense." Theo argued, "I mean, you're not even..." He glanced to Grace, her eyebrows furrowed, waiting for the end of his sentence which never came.

"Not even what?"

"I just meant..." He looked more confused than Grace had been the day she'd been told of her future plans. And it was her future.

"Nott, could I just talk to Grace?" Draco asked, shooting his friend a sharp look. "Alone?"

Theo didn't respond, his eyes flashing to Grace's once more before he shook his head, turning on his heel and stalking back down the hallway, leaving the blonde's in a deafening silence.

"I want to apologize." Draco spoke, his voice echoing around the empty stairwell as he waited for Grace's response, her heart feeling as though it might burst through her chest any moment.

"For what?" She shook her head, offering him her best attempt at a smile that she was sure looked more like a grimace. "I find it hard to believe this was your idea."

"No." He shook his head, dropping to sit on the stairs and pausing until she joined him. "But it was my family's, I'm sure. And I could have warned you, at the party."

"You knew at the party?" She held in a sigh, rubbing over her temples with two fingers and praying for the headache to subside.

"I was processing." He shrugged, "But I acted like a dick, and I should have talked it out with you."

"It's fine. You saved me a few extra days of anxiety."

His eyes clouded over slightly as he turned to face her, his gaze wandering over her face. She did look nervous, though whether it was from speaking to him, or the thought of marrying him, he couldn't be sure.

"I'm sorry for ruining your life." He said softly, her eyes flashing to his at last.

She let out half a laugh that sounded closer to a scoff, an unbelieving smile spreading over her lips.

"You're not ruining my life." She mumbled, "You're Draco Malfoy. I'm ruining yours."

He watched as her eyes fell back to their feet on the stone steps, reaching out slowly and linking two fingers with hers to pull her attention back to him.

"No, you're not." He shook his head, slowly. "Don't forget, I was the one who asked you to the ball. If this is either of our faults, it's mine."

Grace was quiet for another moment, Draco's words hanging in the air.

"Well, your parents obviously didn't see us dancing together or they would have picked someone else."

He didn't even try to bite back the laugh that bubbled through his chest now, leaning back to prop himself up by his elbows on the stone behind them and looking up to the arched ceiling.

"No, they were quite adamant it be you." He spoke, teasingly. "Maybe they want to knock my ego down a few pegs? I'll have my work cut out for me, won't I? Training you into a Malfoy?"