Halloween
Scarlets POV:
I haven't gone to the lake since that night with Theo. He hasn't said anything but I can tell he wants to. Behind his typical flirty demeanor there is a flash of sadness when he meets my eyes. I don't know what to say if he asks me about it though. How can I show him that I am okay? I don't need pity. I am stronger than he thinks.
The dance is in a few hours and I am sitting on my four poster bed working on my alchemy project when Pansy bursts through the door.
“You're not dressed yet? The dance starts soon and I want to have some punch before Blaise and Theo spike it with Ogdens." Pansy is wearing a tight square neck dress. She cleverly charmed devil horns on her head, her shoulder length black hair is curled and has a tail behind her magically swaying back and forth.
“I was just finishing up one equation before the dance.” Closing my books and tucking the parchment inside I get up and flick my wand at myself. My hair is flowing down, some pieces pinned on the back of my head with a white bow. A charmed halo appeared above my head and angel wings on my back. The dress pansy chose for me is identical to her own, but white.
“You look hot, Scar. These boys are going to go crazy tonight.” She is giddy as she pulls me out the door heading for the great hall.
Standing by the door to the Great Hall is Blaise and Theo. Both in suits that match the red on Pansys dress perfectly. Magic horns on their heads as well but no tails, even with Pansys incessant begging.
Blaise is talking to Adrian who is wearing a white tux with his own charmed halo atop his brown hair. Theo seems to be flirting with Padma who is dressed as a warrior princess.
Whistling comes from Blaise and Adrian as me and Pansy walk down the stairs. I link my arms with Adrian as he snakes his arm around my waist and kisses me. “You look so sexy angel, though I am a little surprised you are willing to show so much skin.” He says while pulling back slightly to look me over.
My smile falters at Adrian's words. “I guess it is a little much for me, huh?” I mumbles looking down at my outfit. After some conversation, I look over to Pansy who is fussing with Blaise's suit jacket. Then I make eye contact with Theo who is behind Adrian, he has completely disregarded Padma's presence and is staring back at me. His face is flush and smiling at me. “I think you look great, Scarlet.” He then quickly looks back to Padma as she leads him to the dance floor.
After an hour it seems that more people are dancing. Though that could be from the help of Blaise and Theos little party gift in the punch bowl. Pansy is dancing with Blaise and… Luna? Storing that memory away for me to ask her about later. I look around some more and I finally spot Theo. He's sitting at a table with Padma. His big hands are sliding up and down her toned leg while she whispers in his ear. An unwanted wave of jealousy washes over me as I walk over to where Adrian is.
I place myself on his lap, kissing his cheek. “Are you having a good time?” I ask as my arms wrap around the back of his neck. He's tense, keeping his voice low so only I can hear him. “No Scarlet. I've been sitting here alone, while you're out there dancing like a slut for everyone to watch. It's bloody pathetic.”
My face drops.. “What do you mean? I thought you liked my costume?” Sadness laces my voice as I look down at my dress and back to him.
“That was before I watched every boy in here stare at you all night. Even your best friend. Nott hasn't stopped staring at you.” Adrian's voice grew angrier while his face morphs into disgust when he was talking about Theo.
“Me and Theo are just friends, it's not like that. You're the only person I want to be here with Adrian.” I try to grab his face again so I can kiss him, but instead he grabs my wrists, hard, and pushes me off of him.
Landing flat on my arse, I look up to Adrian with a hurt expression on my face “Find me when you're done acting like a pathetic whore.” He sneers, giving me one final look of disgust as he storms out of the Great Hall leaving me sitting there alone, my wrists pulsating from the pressure that he had applied to them.
Maybe Draco was right to skip the dance. With Theo all over Padma and the way Adrian reacted, I wish I would have stayed in with him. We have so much to accomplish in the upcoming months. Plus the meeting we have at home soon, we should really be working on the cabinet.
I'm lost in thought, when I feel a pair of big hands wrap gently around my arm and help me up. “Care to explain why you're on the floor, love?” Blaise's voice snaps me from my trance as I turn to look at him. “Oh, uh. I fell. Silly me.”
Blaise stare has always been a little intense. “Mhm. If that's so, why are you crying and your wrists red?” I look down, they do look red. “I uh. I--” He cuts me off, gently placing his hand around each wrist pulling me into his chest for a hug. “Tell your bloody boyfriend if he places his hands on you again, I'll kill him.” When he pulls away I look down at the ground in embarrassment.
Blaise has always been able to read me. Not that I was trying to hide it at the moment. “I’m sorry.” I whisper as Blaise's finger reaches under my chin and lifts my head up so my eyes meet his. “No need to apologize, love.” He wipes the tears off of my face and places a kiss on my forehead “You're free to come join me and Theo, if you want.” He offers. I look back over the brunette boy who is currently kissing Padmas neck. I politely decline.
Blaise gives me a small smile and a slight nod. He doesn't have to say anything. Blaise has always teased me about having a crush on the tallest member of our group, though it was never confirmed. Until just now.
After my small talk with Blaise I excused myself from the Great Hall. As nice as the offer was to spend the rest of the night with my friends, I definitely did not want to sit there watching Theo get more and more handsy with Padma. So, that's how I found myself making my way to the seventh floor to where I know Draco will be.
When I arrived at the Room of Requirement, Draco presented me with a letter addressed to both me and him from Cissy. He seems nervous, so I can only assume that whatever is written within the letter is awful news.
With shaky hands I open the letter:
My dearest Draco and Scarlett,
I trust this letter finds you both in good health and strong spirits. As you may be aware, we have some very important quests that will be staying with us for the time being. It is with utmost importance that I extend an invitation to you both, especially Scarlett to join our gathering at Malfoy Manor in five days' time.
I must stress that this special occasion is of the utmost importance. Please make the proper arrangements in order to arrive promptly.
I am eager for your arrival and look forward to seeing you both again.
With all my love and anticipation,
Narcissa Malfoy
After reading the letter it did nothing but force us to work even harder knowing that we have a meeting with The Dark Lord. We spent what felt like hours working on this bloody cabinet, and I was tired. I decided to make my way back to my dorm to sleep, leaving Draco to continue alone.
My body is sore from exhaustion and my wrist ached. When I open the door to my dorm I see movement from Pansys bed. It's dark, I can't make anything out, but she is definitely not alone. Quickly making my way back to the common room I decide to lay on the couch and wait out here until Pansy and her guests are done.
“Mi Tesoro?” I hear a quiet voice from beside me on the couch. I sleepily look over, searching for the messy mop of brown hair.
“Mi Tesoro? Why are you laying out here?” Theo stands in his red suit by the hall to the boy common room with Padma standing awkwardly behind him, sending me a sheepish wave.
Wiping the tired from my eyes I look back at him “Pansy has someone in our room. I was just going to wait out here.” Theo looks at me then turns to Padma and whispers something to her. I can see her face turn to a sad smile and she nods slightly before saying goodnight and making her way out of the common room.
He walks up and stands in front of me, putting a hand out to me. “Come on. You can sleep in Draco's bed. He said he wasn't going to be back till morning. I am sure he wouldn't mind.” I look at him for a second.
His hair is messy as someone was running their hands through it and there are love bites on his neck. Jealousy pulses through me , which quickly turns to sadness. “You didn't have to send her away for me. I could have slept on the couch out here.” Theo grows inpatient, grabs my wrists and pulls me off the couch. “You’re not sleeping out here. Plus, she understands.”
I wince slightly but hold it back so he doesn't notice. He holds my hand while he leads me to his dorm. Once inside I get the familiar scent of limes and lavender.
He leads me so I sit on his bed while he goes into his wardrobe and grabs a shirt for me to wear. “So. Are you going to tell me what happened? Adrian seemed upset when he left.” His voice is strained but he's smiling at me from the side of the room, a single curl falling into his face.
I groan into my hands but before I can come up with a lie, I feel the ghost of his large hands on my wrists. “Mi Tesoro, did I do this?” His voice is laced with guilt. I’m confused as to what he means, then I remember how he grabbed me to get me off the couch.
Stifling a laugh and occluding a little harder I remove my hands and let them sit in my lap, playing with the hem of the shirt he handed me.
“No, of course not.” I explain. Theo has always been gentle to me. He would never hurt me. He sits next to me on the bed now looking suspiciously at me. “You're occluding. Who did this to you?”
I'm quiet for a couple seconds but I can tell he won't let it go until I tell him the truth. The real truth. I don't lie to Theo… Well. about most things.
“He wasn't a fan of the attention I was getting with my costume.” I can't look at him. Embarrassment written all over my face. I can tell he is getting angry but I continue.
“He said that I was asking for attention and that it was pathetic. That I am pathetic for dressing like a whore” Now my own hand is ghosting over my wrist. “I was in an accident. He was just angry.”
Looking down at my fingers running through the hem of the shirt “I bruise easy is all.”
When I finally find the courage to look up at him he's just staring at my hands. His jaw clenching so hard I’m scared his teeth will shatter. Slowly, he takes my bruised wrists into his hand ever so carefully he pulls out his wand with his other hand and wordlessly heals the bruises on both wrists. Bringing up my wrist to his face he places a chaste kiss on each where the bruising once was.
“You're not pathetic Scarlet.” He is looking at me now. His eyes are more green than I have seen them since I taught him to occlude. I give him a quiet thank you and head to the bathroom to change into the shirt he gave me. When he first gave it to me I had assumed it was one of Dracos. But this one is longer on me than Dracos usually are on me and smells like lime and lavender.
Of Theo.
Once I changed and made it back into the room, he was facing away from me shirtless changing out of his Halloween costume. I take a second to appreciate the muscle tone on his back. They way they flex while he reaches to button on his trousers.
When I realize what he's doing I squeak out “I'm so sorry” causing him to turn around while I cover my eyes. ”I didn't know you were changing.”
I hear a low laugh “You've seen me shirtless before, Mi Tesoro” I can feel the heat coming off my cheeks. Of course I have seen him shirtless, but he was undressing further when I walked in.
A few moments later I hear “All done.” The smugness in his voice causes me to blush more. I uncover my eyes and he's still shirtless, standing tall with black satin pajama bottoms hanging low on his hips. “You know, if you wanted to see me naked all you had to do is ask.”
He's smirking at me running his long fingers through his brown locks. My eyes drop to his toned chest, watching the muscles strain with each movement. My face is redder than before, if that is even possible.
Theo has changed alot since last school year. He is more defined, less thin as he was the years prior. There is a new scar along his stomach right above his belly button. There is also a thin line of hair leading into the hem of his trousers. Just barely, you can make out an outline there.
I try my very best not to ogle too long. I bite my bottom lip slightly, walking slowly towards him, my eyes racking up and down his body. My heart is beating loudly in my chest. I put my hand out and placed it on the new scar on his stomach, tracing along it. He flinches slightly.
“Father wanted to teach me the proper way to use a knife. I wasn't able to heal it in time.” He says barely above a whisper, his breathing picks up. “I'm so sorry Theo. You don't deserve this.” Wrapping his long arms around me he pulls me into him he whispers “Neither do you Mi Tesoro.”
We stayed there for a while. Just breathing each other in. Trying to heal all the trauma the other has endured with our embrace. Once he let go, I immediately missed his warmth. I snuggled up in Draco's bed but was engulfed in the smell of Theo.