Chapter 13
"What's up, Gracie?" Theo's voice rolled over the table just as his hands landed on Grace's shoulder, his fingers digging into her muscles for only a second before he broke away, Terry's eyes locked on the dark silver ring with the largeย N,ย his mouth turned into a deep scowl.
Grace couldn't explain it to her friends if she had wanted to... Mostly because she wasn't sure when she had forgiven him. And while Leah took hardly any convincing to move past Theodore's comment, it seemed that Terry was hanging onto any excuse to further his dislike for the Slytherin.
"Nott." Grace turned, shoving the remainder of her dinner towards the center of the table where it disappeared from sight.
"You know, if you like my last name so much, bellisima,ย you can have it." Theo's lips pulled into a smirk, and Grace's eyes went wide as Leah burst into laughter.
"Yeah, we're actually already trying to get her out of her first engagement, so get in line, Theodore." She blurted, much too loud for Grace's liking, as she quickly scanned the students surrounding them, only content when she realized no one had so much as glanced their way at her friend's words.
"Is that so?" He drawled, his eyes returning to Grace's and smiling as he watched her sigh.
"What can I do for you?" Grace pressed, noting the fact that Terry had not spoken a word since Theo's arrival.
"What are you doing?"
"Eating dinner." She answered and held back a grin as he rolled his eyes up towards the star filled ceiling.
"You're done with dinner." He nodded towards the empty space in front of her. "I meant after."
"Well, it's a Tuesday night, so I have to admit, I don't have any crazy plans-"
"Great. We've got to finish our project for McGonagall."
"Oh... alright." Grace agreed, her mind flashing to the to-do list stuffed in her bag upstairs. "You want to go to the library? It shouldn't take us much longer-"
"No, too loud. Everyone's studying for OWLs."
"Studying is typically a pretty silent activity-"
"My common room's closer."
Grace could practically hear Terry's jaw click into place, the bench creaking as he shifted in his seat.
"I mean, we all know how easily I can get into Ravenclaw tower if you'd rather go there, I just figured I'd save us the seventeen flights of stairs-"
"Shut it." Grace groaned, climbing up from her spot and offering her friends a goodbye. Theo bit back a smirk as he waited for her to follow him towards the hallway, her shoes clicking against the stone floor for a few seconds until she reached his side. "You'll have to loan me a quill, my stuff's upstairs."
"I think I can manage that." He teased as they neared the stairwell, descending into the chilly dungeons.
Grace reached for his left hand hanging at his side, pulling it up to inspect his knuckles which had faded to a faint purple now.
"No more fighting, hmm?" She asked, looking to him, though he didn't meet her eyes as they rounded the corner towards the now familiar entrance to the Slytherin's common room.
"Well, it's only been two days. Give me a chance, Gracie." He teased, chuckling beneath his breath at her sigh before muttering the password and waving her through the doorway.
Grace took a second, glancing around the oversized common room, slowing up to let Theo pick where they were heading. The room was nearly empty, most of the students were likely still at dinner, or crowding the library in preparations for exams.
Theo led them towards a pristine, dark colored couch near the back of the room, minimal light filtering in from the lake above them. Grace wondered for a moment as she glanced around the furniture if the Slytherin's had all new furnishings brought in each year, or if they had spells protecting all of their things.
"It's way too dark over here to get anything done!" She protested as Theo launched himself into the center of the couch, raising his wand towards the end table and igniting a small lamp. "Alright." She agreed, sinking down beside him and waiting as he pulled out their materials. They had managed to get a good amount of the paper done in class last week, though of course it had been a constant battle to keep Theo's focus on their work.
Grace reached for the parchment and quill as Theo finally pulled them from his bag, his eyebrows raising as he met her gaze.
"It's my turn to write, this thing is almost entirely in your handwriting." He pointed out.
"So what? My handwriting's better anyway." Grace argued, Theo's jaw dropping slightly.
"My handwriting's just fine-"
"Yes, it's fine, I didn't say-"
"Just admit you're a little perfectionist and you can't handle letting other people be in control." He teased and she felt her lips fall into a thin line.
"That's..."
"Mhm." He grinned, setting to work on the rest of the parchment. "Now where were we..."
Grace huffed, leaning back against the arm rest of the couch and pulling her knees up to her chest as she watched. It was likely the lack of other students crowding the common room as they usually were when she was down here, but combined with the darkness of the dungeons and the February weather, she was already freezing and it had hardly been ten minutes.
Her neck craned to watch as Theo started the next paragraph, waiting patiently for him to announce he was sick of working and handing over the parchment for her to complete.
"Bellisima..." Theo's voice snapped her gaze from the paper to his eyes, the green dark in the dim light, half a smirk pulling at his lips. "Do you not trust me?"
"What?"
"You're watching me like a hawk. I'll have you know my transfiguration grade is quite good-"
"I'm not! I mean... I don't think you'll mess up, I... What do you want me to do, just sit here?"
"Yeah." He grinned, "That's what I want you to do."
Grace sighed, pulling her legs closer against her and tucking her feet beneath her in an attempt to warm up, desperately wishing she had thought to wear a thicker sweater to dinner.
"Alright," Theo finally gave in, sliding closer to the blonde on the couch beside him and handing over the parchment. "Can't stand seeing your nose all scrunched up the whole time I'm writing-"
"What?" Her hand flew to her face, though from Theo's laughter, she assumed he had been joking. "You're so annoying."
"Yeah." He shrugged, leaning back into the couch. "Merlin, your feet are freezing." He whined, shoving her ankles together away from his legs.
"You're the one who decided we would work down here!"
"Yeah, don't blame my common room. You're always cold."
"Am not." She bit back, though she was only partially listening, setting to work on the next paragraph at record speed.
The brunette didn't answer, finally letting them fall into silence, the soft sound of Grace's quill scratching against the parchment. Theo watched her work, her lips pressed together, her eyes flicking across the page, her socks inching closer towards his legs again without her noticing.
"For fucks sake." He muttered, jumping from the couch and storming towards the staircase without another word, Grace's eyes going wide as she watched him fade from view in the black stairwell. She paused, glancing between their work and where his body had vanished from sight for a few seconds, wondering if she had done something wrong? If she should pack up their work and head back upstairs before Theo reappeared, dark gray fabric balled up in his fists.
"Where-" She trailed off as he chucked the object at her lap, reaching out to catch it at the last second. It was a balled up pair of thick, gray socks and she held back a laugh as Theo flung himself back at her side.
"Theo-"
"Put them on, I can't deal with your icicle feet another minute." He ordered, shooting her his best attempt at a glare until she pulled the socks on over her own. "Alright. Crisis averted. Now, give me back my project."
"I never knew you were so bossy." She grumbled, handing over the parchment as he slouched down into his spot and set back to work.
"Some of us care about our grades." He teased, "And hypothermia."
"I'm sure the library's nice and warm." Grace said under her breath, sinking deeper into the couch, her head falling against the arm rest, though Theo ignored her. They worked for a while longer, Theo nearing the third page of parchment before he finally stopped, scanning over the final paragraph.
"Alright... I'm scared to ask you... but, how's it looking?" He glanced over, turning the page towards her before realizing her eyes were shut. "Grace!"
"Hmm?" She blinked, sitting up taller at once and grabbing the page from his hand. "My turn?"
"I'veย finished. No thanks to you!" He grinned, watching as she scanned over his work.
"I was just waiting my turn."
"You were sleeping."
"I wasn't." She swore, her eyes wide now. "This looks good..." She nodded as she read through the scrawling letters.
"You know, if you're going to keep falling asleep on me, I'm going to have to start worrying about possible disorders... have you got narcolepsy or something?"
"Theodore."
"I'm serious! It's going to become a threat to your safety-"
"It's not a threat." Grace laughed, letting her face fall into her hands. "I haven't been sleeping very well."
Theo watched her gaze fall to her lap as she began rolling up the parchment and passed it to him, her blue eyes meeting his.
"Why not?" He asked and she shrugged. "Come on, Gracie... you can talk to me."
"It's stupid." She mumbled, pushing away from the arm of the couch behind her and mindfully keeping her feet away from Theo.
"Na-uh." He shook his head, reaching out before she could even blink, his fingers linking around her ankles and yanking her closer to him on the couch until he was towering over her face, her laughter filling the silence of the common room.
"Don'tย yankย me like that, you'll break my ankles!"
"Right, I see that happening." He rolled his eyes, his left hand pressing into the couch beside her as he leaned his weight onto one arm. "What's keeping you up at night, Grace?"
She paused, her smile faltering slightly as she scanned the rest of the room.
"Just... Dra... The Malfoys. The wedding." Her voice dropped lower with each word. "Can you seeย meย being a Malfoy?"
"No." Theo answered without a seconds thought.
"I mean... that Christmas party was enough of an indicator... I don't even know why..." Theo didn't speak, even as she paused, waiting for her to finish her thought. "They could have picked anyone for him. And I think when they get to know me, they're going to regret-"
"Wait," Theo's eyes went dark, "If you're seriously thinkingย you'reย not good enough for Malfoy, you're a head case. It's the other way around."
Grace shot him a look, her head cocked to the side. "Theo."
"I'm serious!"
She shrugged, as if she wasn't ready to get into that with him, glancing towards the doorway once again. "And I can't stop thinking about... once it comes out. And everyone... the whole school knows, and... I mean, it's just so ridiculous! They're all going to feel so bad for him, stuck with me-"
"Stuck with you." Theo scoffed beneath his breath, though Grace plowed on.
"He's got half the school obsessing over him. Boys don't even like me-"
"What are you talking about?" He asked, his voice so loud now that she finally trailed off, meeting the dark green eyes once again.
"I mean... I've been on dates, but it's not like boys are lining up to take me out."
"Oh, is that so?" The sarcasm dripped from Theo's words, and he resisted the urge to roll his eyes so far back they might never come back down.
"I couldn't even get a date to the stupid ball last year. Leah turned down three separate offers."
"Gracie."
"It's fine. I'm just... Confused. And stressed. And-"
"Maybe no one asked you last year, because they knew you were too good for any of them."
"Right." She nodded, leaning off from the couch and reaching for her boots on the floor. "Well, we've finished and it's getting late, I should-"
"Grace... Wait." Theo ran two fingers over his eyes, stalling for a few seconds as Grace waited for his next words. "Maybe... Maybe one of the Weasley twins was going to ask you... last year. To the ball. And I told him not to."
Grace's mouth fell open slightly without her notice as Theo stared at her, waiting for her reaction.
"What... What? Why would you... Which one?"
"Which what?"
"Which twin?" She hissed.
"Oh, I don't bloody know. Can't tell 'em apart." He shrugged, carelessly as Grace groaned, slipping her left foot into her boot.
"And what makes you think you have any right to tell people not to ask me-"
"Oh, what? You were going to go out with a Weasley?"
"Theo!"
"Well, maybe I should have let you. If Draco's parents knew you'd been running around with blood traitors, they never would have set up this little arrangement."
Grace's mouth opened and shut twice, though she didn't even have a response for him, slipping on her other shoe and standing from the couch.
"You're impossible."
"That's what they say."
"Goodnight, Theodore-"
"Grace-"
"Theo, I'm tired."
"Are you mad?"
She sighed, looking back to him. "No. It doesn't matter."
"Okay, well... are you going to sleep alright tonight?"
"I'm sure."
"Positive?"
She didn't answer, turning away from the couches and starting towards the doorway.
"Because you know the password. If you can't sleep. You can always come find me."
"Oh, yes. I'm sure that would be most helpful." She scoffed, shooting him a thin smile.
"Goodnight, Gracie."
"Goodnight, asshole." She grinned, enjoying the look of surprise painted on the Slytherin's face as she slipped into the hallway and started up the stairs to Ravenclaw tower.
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