Our Dear Bubble
“Oh, Tom, my father has invited you to stay with us over the break!” Everyone looked to Nott who had an opened letter in his hand, his owl still perched on the dining table in front of him, amidst the plates of food. “I suspect that he’s curious to learn of your future plans from yourself despite what I’ve told him.”
Tom inclined his head in gratitude as he accepted the offer, prompting Nott to draft up a letter immediately so as to not keep his owl waiting.
“The break, hm? A lot will be happening this winter,” Druella absentmindedly remarked.
Avery snickered, “ah, yes. Gringotts and manipulating muggles, my favourite New Year’s Eve pastimes.”
Tom only shrugged and turned to Mulciber when he asked, “What will you do about Gaunt?”
As Tom gave it a thought, Thea quirked up in realisation. “Oh! He does still have the Gaunt ring with him. Ministry officials could never manage to get it off him; said that he had cursed it to stick to his skin. Words said that he even had it during his term in Azkaban.”
“I suppose a little visit won’t hurt then.”
The group of friends proceeded to speak of their plans for the break. As conversations split off and occupied the air, Tom felt a hand grasp his to fidget with it. He turned to his left to see that Thea must have had done it subconsciously as she watched Druella, Walburga, and Avery chatting with a frown. His left arm had wrapped itself around her back and he tapped his hand on her waist to attract her attention. A smile instantly lifted her lips up when her eyes fell on him and she gave a questioning hum, to which he responded with, “you alright?”
She intertwined their hands assuredly, her smile now tinged with content. “Yeah, just… I’ve never had proper friends so this’ll be the first time I’ve got people other than Tally to miss.”
He gazed upon her in understanding. “Think you can request a day out at New Year’s Eve to join me?”
“Shouldn’t be a problem.”
They – and everyone else – then snapped their heads to Walburga when she had exclaimed in remembrance. “Oh, right! When will the Malfoy’s Yule Ball invitations roll out again?”
“Shouldn’t be too long now,” Mulciber piped up.
Lestrange nudged his head to the side, towards where Abraxas Malfoy sat not too far away from him, “want me to get his attention for you?”
“That’s alright, thanks, I’ll go to him. I’ve got something else to ask him anyway.”
Walburga then got up from her seat and headed towards the unsuspecting Malfoy. She returned a minute later with a bright grin and planted her sights on Thea. “Guess who’s also getting an invitation?”
Taken aback, Thea looked at Walburga with wide eyes as words escaped her mind. “Uh…”
“Oh, yes! Thea,” Druella turned to the aforementioned girl and took her unoccupied hand in her grasp, “you should join us! It’ll be fun!”
Thea spared a brief glance at the boys, who had raised no arguments and were watching expectantly, and then raised her eyebrow at the ladies. “You think I’m ready for an actual event? With what you’ve seen so far in our lessons?”
“Sure, you are!”
“I couldn’t agree more.” Walburga nodded, sending Thea a steadfast look. “It’ll be a good opportunity to put all your knowledge into practice too. We can then see what needs improvements and find out which aspects would be your forte.”
Affected by their confidence in her, Thea gave a tentative nod with a lopsided smile. “I mean, if you say so… I don’t suppose I have a reason to decline.”
“Wonderful!”
Then, as an afterthought, Thea muttered to herself, “that means I’ll have to request two days of leave from the school…”
Having heard her, Avery questioned quizzically, “are you staying in Hogwarts for the break, Grace?”
When Thea replied with a “yes,” frowns were plastered onto everyone’s face. Druella, especially, had disbelief written all over her features as if she had just been personally offended. “But- that won’t do!”
Thea smiled bitterly, “I can’t quite help it, Ella.”
“How about staying over at mine?” Walburga had started with a thoughtful expression. “My parents won’t mind since they like Riddle – or rather, his influence – and Riddle endorses you. They had been impressed by your magical capability when I had told them of it, which insinuates that they at least respect you as a witch. I don’t doubt they’ll be interested in assessing you for themselves; mother, especially.”
Throat clogged up with emotions, Thea lacked the words to respond and Druella took the chance to add in her thoughts. “Expect me to be there when you prepare for the ball too!” Then, she lit up with an idea, “and we could have a sleepover!”
“It would make it easier to present your research too.”
“That’s true!”
“Oh, girls…” One look at Thea’s watery smile had both women soften in affection. “I can’t even begin to express how grateful I would be if I could. If your family would be willing to have me, then, yes, I would love to join you.”
Walburga regarded her tenderly. “Of course, dear. I’ll write to them after this.”
Later that day, when Thea found herself writhing on Tom’s sheets to snuggle closer to the boy – Tom had no pending assignments that needed his attention forthwith and so, he had decided to join Thea under the covers – she felt her heart still bursting with love for the people around her. Her sparkly eyes as she gazed up at Tom, from where she was held against his chest protectively, invoked a curious hum from him as he swept her fringe away from her face.
A bonny beam on her lips, she shook her head but voiced out her emotions softly anyway. “Just can’t believe how different my life has become; I’m really happy about it – about everything. Ella, Wally, the boys, a sense of belonging amongst the snakes, and you – especially you.” The fondness noticeable in her tone intensified as she basked in the care of her beloved. “It’s all thanks to you; none of it could have happened if you hadn’t accepted me.”
His hand continued to gently caress her head, a honeyed smile lifting the corner of his lips up as he disagreed. “Quite the opposite, really. You made it happen when you had decided to give me a chance. You had accepted me long before we even spoke that day on the platform, and your words and actions – you – only made it inevitable that I yearned to reciprocate. You’ve taught me how to give back and – Merlin knows – nothing could ever be enough to express how lovely you are.” His features softened even further as he took in her affectionate expression. “My sweet, sweet Thea. You have chosen to give me life and with it, I will spend with an oath to never make you look back on your decision with regret.”
If her heart had been bubbling with emotions previously, it had definitely erupted at this point. He had taken her breath away with his sugared words paired with his endearing actions and countenance, and she felt a threatening hiccup rise up her gut that would only induce tears to flow out unobstructed. Her sentiments for Tom had – and would – never seen a diminution and she knew with veritable trust that it could only rise for as long as life existed. She was struck with the need to let him know as such, but words could never suffice; so how-
-oh, modesty be damned!
The fact that Thea was wearing a skirt – that was probably dishevelled from all her shifting in bed – was of no concern to her as she lifted her upper body off the bed, balancing on her knees, before manoeuvring one of her legs over Tom’s body to capture him below her by sitting on his front hips. He barely had time to register their new position visually when her lips swiftly caught his with the help of her hands holding his head to angle him appropriately.
His left hand fell onto her tights-covered thigh while his right went to her jaw to stabilise her head similarly. A ravenous groan escaped his throat when Thea wasted no time to entwine her tongue with his as her left hand dropped to his shirt collar to pop the top button open. It was pleasurable torture, the way her legs had clenched around him tighter when the sound had escaped him, and he allowed her to treat the next buttons the same way she had done the first. Her other hand had gone to rake through his hair and the overwhelming feel of her touch tugging at his locks and dancing on his bare sternum was enough to render him thoughtless to make space for her presence.
Their mouths showed no indication of halting the messy and feverish kiss, even as oxygen grew short and hot breaths filled the space. His hand had gone up, under her blouse, and back to search for the latch of her bra, while his other had begun to mimic her ministrations on the buttons. When she made no move to stop him whatsoever – if her tightening grip on his hair was anything to go by, she was just as enthusiastic as him – he unclasped her top undergarment just as he arrived at her final button.
Promptly, Thea separated herself from Tom and sat up, heaving to catch her breath as she rid herself of her undone clothing. Tom followed suit and she shifted backwards to sit on his lap instead, both their upright torsos now voided of fabric. The sight of her bare body, the unexplored territories of her skin and her supple breasts, accompanied by her pouty, kiss-bitten lips and voracious, glazed-over eyes, was an absolute vision that he would forever be ingrained in his head and he knew, when she pulled on her bottom lip with her teeth slyly, that she could feel him stiffen further beneath her.
He revelled in the increasing desire that filled her eyes as she eyed his own body, drifting low to his hips where she then placed her hands on to feel the tender muscles in the path her gaze took as she looked him up appreciatively. His hands, that had been languidly caressing her waist, rounded to her stomach and traced upwards firmly, spreading out to the sides of her chest before moving in to cup her breasts. Her breath hitched when he gave them a solid squeeze, one of her hands pausing on his chest and the other on his shoulder, and a whimper left her when he swiped his thumbs over her nubs. Her face scrunched up sultrily as he pressed and rubbed her nipples under his finger, eliciting low hums from her that shot heat through his veins. A breathy moan sounded when he pinched her nubs and he fell victim to his ache to give her more.
As his hands resumed their work on her chest, he leaned forward to latch his mouth onto her shoulder, searching for a spot that earned him a mewl when he had pressed down on her flesh with his tongue so that he could bite on it strongly enough to leave a mark. She couldn’t help the way his name had left her lips obscenely when he had introduced the unfamiliar pleasant pain, and any attempts to suppress her noises flew out the window when he had responded by flicking her nubs and tugging on them firmly.
The number of marks Tom proceeded to litter all over her neck, down to her collarbone, only grew with time and Thea could only pant and keen harsher the fiercer the coil tightened in her gut with Tom’s uninterrupted efforts. She could feel herself edge towards the perimeter of the cliff; and ever closer when he had brought his face near her ears to express his worship of her beauty in an alluring, quiet tone. It didn’t help matters – or, quite the contrary, really – when his right hand stopped its gestures on her nub and, instead, pawed at her breast to grant him access to envelop her sensitive nipple with his lips. Her eyes fell shut as she gave a broken moan, crying out his name amorously when his tongue played with her wetly.
Flick, lap, press, suck-
His ardent his actions, combined with the novelty of the delightful feelings he had imposed on her, soon had her tip over the edge. As his left hand rolled and tugged on one nipple sternly while he circled the other fluidly with his tongue, Thea could only warn him of the approaching waves of pleasure with unfinished, rushed words, before the coil snapped and heat bloomed in her core, pulling out a pitchy cry from her lips. Her hips gave an involuntary jerk, invoking a guttural hum from Tom when she had brushed against his stiffness, and her nails dug into his chest and his nape respectively. Her nipples peaked in oversensitivity as she came down from her high, a chant of “too much” slurring out of her in conjoined words that impelled Tom to slow down to a stop, unfastening his mouth from her chest and pausing his fiddling on her other nub. His hands went to stroke her sides soothingly and he lifted his head up to admire her post-blissed-out expression as he muttered candied praises cooingly. To his mirth, she hadn’t even bothered to fully stabilise her breath before she dipped down to reconnect their lips hungrily.
When she had to part from Tom to finally allow air into her lungs, she dropped her forehead onto his shoulder and nuzzled into his neck, breathing in his woody scent that had always comforted her.
“Feeling alright, love?”
Thea hummed affirmatively and gave a big breath. Her hand on his sternum tapped its way as she slowly dragged her palm down his front, voice slipping out of her lips lowly when she spoke next, her sensuality giving him rapture and torment.
Rapture, because she had confessed her burning wish to return the favour.
And torment, because-
“-and I’m saying! If Lloyd had been taken out of the picture earlier on, I would’ve won!”
“Ha, ha. Very funny. We all know I would be the winner if that was the case.”
“Oh, shut it. You’re both just salty that I’m the best.”
“You take that back-”
Through the shut curtains around Tom’s section of the room, the couple could hear the three distinct voices of their friends arguing even before the door to the room had been opened. Whilst they had put up a privacy ward around them, it didn’t block out the noise from entering their space, thus forcing them to listen to Rosier, Avery, and Mulciber squabble over something they didn’t quite care about at the moment.
Thea loosened up her muscles, which had gone tense in surprise, and sighed deeply into the juncture of Tom’s neck as she opted to wrap her arms tightly around his torso. “Great timing.”
Amused as he was rankled, Tom similarly exhaled largely and embraced the girl.
It remained quiet between them for the next moments as they effortfully quelled their inner desirous flames, only their breathing audible besides the chatter nearby. When Thea had pulled back, Tom gave a small smile upon catching the pout on her lips and the furrow in her eyebrows, one of his hands going up to ease her facial muscles gently. “What will you do?”
He knew exactly what she had meant and he gave a noncommittal shrug. “Could sleep it off.” Her frown only worsened and he tapped her lips reassuringly. “Not exactly the first time I find myself in such a situation, love. You tend to cause it quite often.”
That evoked an upturn of her lips and she gave him a short kiss before relenting; her laugh, a tinkle of joy, when he had groaned in agony in response to her erotically-expressed promise of another time.
They only went to the lengths of setting their discarded clothes aside, to the foot of the bed, before settling themselves back under the covers to nap until Tom’s alarm rang for dinner.
And if her wish had been granted earlier than expected later, when Tom had woken up to find himself still bothered and the room had been emptied of anyone else? Well, the accusatory questions that spewed out of their friends when they ended up gracing the hall with their presence much later than usual were worth it.