Chapter 11
Days passed and Valentine's Day arrived. Daisy had to restrain herself from cursing all the love letters that came to Theo so she vented her anger on her brother's.+
" Why did you do that? " shouted Harry, looking shocked at the pile of ashes in front of him.
" Don't worry, you will get my gift later. " Cedric reassured him, rubbing his back consolingly.
" Gross, I didn't want to know. " she said, disgusted and hiding a smile as the two boys turned red as they denied any implication of her. " Anyway you should thank me, that stuff was probably full of love potions. Some people are just desperate. "
" Or poisoned judging by all the hate you're getting. " Ron added, agreeing with her. " A real shame about all that chocolate though. "
" Believe me, I feel their loss too. " nodded the Hufflepuff before chasing Luna out of the Great Hall. She had to catch up with her before she left for Hogsmeade.
" Luna, wait! " shouted Daisy, grabbing her arm when she reached her and walking along with her. " I wanted to ask you if your house had any items of great importance. "
" There would be the Rowena Ravenclaw lost diadem. " Luna said, in a dreamy voice. She looked thoughtfully at the ceiling as she walked down the street with her friend who had to keep her from bumping into other students as they walked. " But not a soul saw it. "
" So no one know where it ended up. " Daisy's shoulders slumped in disappointment and the girl swallowed her anger as she slammed into another dead end.
" It's obvious, isn't it? We should talk to someone who is dead. " Luna pointed out to her, awakening from that kind of trance and grabbing her hand. " Follow me, I'm going to the village a little late. "
" Are you sure? I wouldn't want to spoil your date. " said Daisy, uncertain.
" Ginny still had to go down for breakfast. We have time. " she said, inviting her to follow. She took her to the Gray Lady and left her with her stating that the ghost of her household was too shy to talk to more than one person. After wishing her luck on her first date with the only Weasley girl, Daisy moved forward resolutely.
As she approached the place where the spirit lay, she caught her attention. " You're Helena Ravenclaw, right? " she asked, remembering her friend's recommendation not to call her gray lady.
" Are you a friend of Luna's? " asked the spectre, wary.
" Yes, she thought you could help me. " Daisy nodded.
" You are looking for my mother's diadem. " said the grey lady, already knowing the reason for her visit. When the Hufflepuff girl confirmed, she added, " Luna is kind, unlike many others. But she was wrong when she said I could help you. "
" Luna is a talented girl, and there are rare times when she gets it wrong. " Daisy said, begging Helena to stop. " I want to destroy it. "
" Another swore to destroy it many years ago and I believed him. I will never make the same mistake. " the ghost said.
" Tom Riddle. " she added, having her suspicions confirmed.
" He desecrated it with dark magic! " the grey lady became angry, advancing fiercely towards her as if she wanted to strike her.
" I know. That's why I want to destroy it like I did with 2 other cursed items. " she told her, hoping to convince her to tell her where Tom hidden it. It was his brother who had destroyed the diary, but at that moment there was no room for technicalities.
" It's here, in the castle. " Helena said, disappearing from her sight once she named the room where everything was hidden. When Daisy realized which room the woman was talking about, she ran away. She would have to thank Luna later for the great help she had given her.
Knowing that she had plenty of free time before her date with Theo, she made her way to her room so she could grab her now trusty poisoned dagger, and then ran to the room of requirement. When she walked in through the door, she almost wept when she realized how many hours, if not days, it would take her to find something as small as a tiara in the midst of all those piles of stuff thrown one on top of the other.
Thinking that the nearest piles might hold the latest stuff, she hoped she hadn't made the wrong decision when she started digging through the furthest rows. After scouring two of the stacks, she decided she had done enough for the day. She would return with some extra help the next day so she could devote all day to searching. For now, she was just glad to have discovered where the third Horcrux was hidden.
She headed back to his strangely empty dormitory to get ready. She wore a black sweater paired with a denim dungaree skirt and the combat boots Sirius had given her that Christmas. She messed with her hair a bit, styling it into low pigtails and tying it up with black ribbons. Looking in the mirror, she was pleased with what she saw and secretly hoped that Theo would feel the same way.
After grabbing his gift, she ran to the seventh floor as soon as she realized she was already late. When she arrived, the sight of Theo took her breath away. He was wearing black pants, a loose, comfortable-looking forest green sweater from which she could see the white T-shirt he wore underneath and the black shoes he used to wear. He was attractive, he always was, but at that moment he seemed extremely soft, and Daisy had the impulse to want to sink into his arms. Not wanting to show how much his appearance had impressed her, she tried to compose herself.
" Clean well, Nott. " teased him, scaring him away.
" Listen to who's talking. " he answered, looking at her openly. " Give me time to open these doors so I can greet you properly. "
She remained silent as she watched him ask the room what shape it should take. When they walked through the doors, they were both stunned when they found a real garden in front of them with a picnic tablecloth set up under a large tree.
" I love magic. " whispered Daisy, gazing in amazement at the enchanted sky above them. " Do you think it will change as the hours go by? "
" Probably. " he said, taking her by the hand and dragging her over the tablecloth. Theo sat with his back against the tree, spreading his legs wide enough for his girlfriend to slip inside.
As Daisy relaxed against the Slytherin's chest, the latter began to play with her pigtails. " What do you think? "
" I like them. " he replied, jokingly tugging at a lock. " Now turn around, I need to kiss those pretty lips of yours before Winky pops up with our lunch. "
When the little elf appeared, carrying a basket full of food, Theo groaned painfully against her shoulder.
" Thank you, it all looks delicious. " Daisy smiled sweetly at her, as she placed the food and drinks on the tablecloth.
" Mr. Theo wanted to make the young lady happy, so Winky helped. " nodded the elf, disappearing before their eyes.
" Don't you think it's amazing that elves can dematerialize at Hogwarts? They have powerful magic. " Daisy said, beginning a rant about the different types of magic that creatures around the world possessed and how they differed from those of wizards.
" Baby, this is not the time. " Theo laughed, before silencing her with a slow but passionate kiss. " I wanted to do this from the moment I saw you. "
" What did you do this morning?" " asked, taking one of the sandwiches from the tray.
" I had to watch Blaise strut because he had convinced Daphne to go on a date with him. " the Slytherin said in horror. " It got worse when he kept changing clothes. "
" I find cute that he cares so much. " the girl nodded, handing the tray to Theo and telling him to eat something else. They weren't going to make Winky come to the complexes for leaving food.
" You don't understand. He kept changing, but they were basically the same things. " Theo explained, shuddering at the memory. " I finally threw my gray sweater at him, ending the matter. "
" The dark one that looks handmade? " Daisy asked, loving the way the fitted sweater pattern hugged her boyfriend's figure. She really hoped Blaise would give it back to him. " It looks better on you. "
" How do you know if you haven't seen it on him? " asked, amused when the girl refused to answer and blushed. " You? How did you spend your morning? "
" I chatted with Helena Ravenclaw. " she replied.
" A typical day of Daisy Potter. " Theo nodded, listening to her talk about the way she had planned to go in search of the diadem the next day so as to eliminate another of those horrible things. When Daisy realized that she had started talking basically about work, she apologized. " Don't worry. I love to hear you when you get all passionate about something. Also looking at you, of course. "
" I've got a thing for you then. " she nodded, shyly handing him her gift and hoping she hadn't messed up with her choice.
He watched the way he unwrapped the gift, revealing what appeared to be a book of spells. " I enchanted the cover so that it looks like a school book. " she explained, when she saw him look strangely at the book in his hands. " It's actually one of my favorite Muggle books. It's called Alice in Wonderland. "
" It's yours. " he whispered, running a finger over a page full of notes and sticky notes. She watched him carefully leaf through the book, which seemed to be filled in the same way on most of the pages.
" If you don't like it, I can find something else. " Daisy said, worried about the silence. " I know it's not something expensive but I thought I'd give you a piece of me, so that I can get to know myself better. "
" Don't you dare pick it up again, I love it. " he said, laying it somewhere else. " But you'll have to keep it before I get home. My father check my stuff. "
" Are you coming back for the holidays? " she stammered, distressed by the discovery.
" Yes. " the boy sighed, looking away in embarrassment. He wasn't particularly keen on the idea either.
" I'm going to stay under the radar. " he promised, easing her worries by giving her a small box in her hand and encouraging her to open it. Inside was an antique-looking butterfly brooch judging by the way the silver was worked. It might seem simple but by paying attention to the smallest details, you could see how much it had been loved as an object. That elegant brooch had once belonged to someone.
" It was my mother's. " Theo explained, looking at the object fondly. " She used to wear it every day. "
" I can't accept an object of such importance. " Daisy said, overwhelmed with emotion. " You don't know what's going to happen between us. "
" I want you to have it. " insisted, taking it from her hands and pinning it to her sweater after asking the permission. " No matter how it goes, you will always remain the dearest person to me. The one who taught me to love and respect myself. I can't imagine a better person to give it to. "
" Thank you. " she whispered, grabbing his face and brushing his lips in a sweet kiss.