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Theo slowly broke into a strange consciousness, aware first only of the steady pounding of his head, followed quickly by the soft sound of singing drowned out only by the steady patter of rain against glass. He stayed stock-still, only lifting his head so that he could better search the dimly lit space that surrounded him. He relaxed slightly into the warm comfort of the unfamiliar bed upon realizing that there were no human forms in the small room with him--at least none that he could see.
He closed his eyes and drew in a careful breath. He couldn’t taste the tangy fizz of magic in the air, no. Instead, the air wafted in lavender and grapefruit scent, something unmistakably feminine, and Theo was all the more confused. Where the hell was he?
Searching his memory, the last thing he remembered was stalking through a dark alley, wand pointed towards his former classmate, Dean Thomas, before being snuck up on from behind. He had turned his head towards the second person only to be bludgeoned over the head by something heavy--which explained the throbbing emanating from his temple. He wasn’t all too upset that Thomas had gotten away, if a bit angry that he had been taken unawares and physically assaulted.
Theo had accepted that as a Death Eater, he couldn’t avoid certain unpleasant tasks--like hunting down members of the bloody Order of the Phoenix and the stupid Golden Trio, who were always causing trouble for the Dark Lord and the rest of them. The Battle of Hogwarts hadn’t changed much, Harry Potter had managed to grievously injure the Dark Lord, but he and his Death Eaters had successfully retreated, and that had been four years ago. The war raged on.
Theo quickly patted down the empty pockets of the pants he was wearing (made of a soft material he didn’t recognize) and threw back the layer of rose-patterned covers that enveloped his sore body, hoping desperately to find his wand, the stick of wood that had become as much a part of him as any other limb. It was nowhere to be found, and he was on the brink of panicking.
“Accio Wand” he whispered hopefully, throwing as much power behind the spell as he could without the conduit of his wand directing it. After a minute of nothing happening, Theo knew that either the wandless magic hadn’t been successful, or the wand was out of range of his magic. He cursed under his breath. He hated being without his wand, hated how vulnerable he felt.
He realized suddenly that the soft singing had stopped, and threw himself back down onto the mattress quickly, desperate not to lose whatever element of surprise he may hold in this situation, as a door into the room swung open.
Warm light and steam drifted in from the doorway, and the floral scent he had drawn into his lungs earlier seemed to intensify. Theo cracked his eyes open halfway so he could observe his captor through his lashes. He was entirely surprised by the sight that met his eyes--a girl, no older than his twenty years, was rummaging through drawers by the light of what he realized must be the bathroom. A towel wrapped around her torso, shapely legs exposed, long hair soaking wet, and otherwise naked, her back was angled away from him. She hummed tunelessly, pulling various items of clothing from the drawer, and seemed ignorant to his presence in what Theo could only assume was her bed.
As she turned towards him, he registered a pretty face before he closed his eyes more fully, reluctant to shut them all the way, maintaining the pretense of sleeping. He didn’t recognize her, not at all, and Theo was pretty sure he wouldn’t have forgotten a face as striking as hers, even in the split second he had seen it. He felt her lean over him (was she still in that towel?), and place a soft hand on his forehead and he couldn’t help the shiver that ran through his body at this strange, gentle touch. She tsked and pulled the covers back over him, muttering quietly to herself as she moved away again, back towards the light of the bathroom.
Theo opened his eyes to watch her gathering the textiles she had pulled from the drawers and disappearing into the bathroom. He heard her moving around in there, door closed but for a crack, and he decided it was time to move. He sat up, throwing the covers off once more, and moved to stand, ignoring the dizzy feeling that washed over him. He glanced down at himself, only to stare at the soft navy-blue trousers and black cotton t-shirt he was sporting, both of which fit his tall frame surprisingly well. Muggle clothes. Muggle clothes that he hadn’t changed into himself. Which meant that, one, she was likely a Mudblood, or perhaps even a--well, Theo couldn’t even bring himself to think the word, couldn’t bear that possibility. Two, someone had changed his clothes for him, while he was unconscious.
Theo wanted answers. He crept quietly across the shadowy room to stand behind the bathroom door. The girl had seemed to be fooled by his pretense of sleeping, and he wouldn’t hesitate to use that to his advantage. He heard her bustling about, and eyed her through the crack at the hinged side of the door. She had dried her hair a bit, it seemed, and gotten dressed, thank Salazar. Not that the tiny blue camisole covered much, and she was definitely not wearing a bra, causing Theo to swallow a bit nervously. A small line of midriff was visible over the drawstring of pants that appeared to be a black version of the ones he was wearing. They bunched loosely around her much shorter-frame, and--
Theo shook his head to clear it, what the hell was he doing, he didn’t have time to check the girl out, for Slytherin’s sake, he need answers. He barely held back the pained gasp that tried to escape him as his head throbbed again, but he had felt much worse pain before, and managed to remain quiet. Element of surprise, he reminded himself, although he was feeling a bit more confident now that he realized how small and seemingly naive this girl was.
Theo narrowed his eyes and straightened his back as the girl meandered towards the bathroom door, her arms full of a white box with a red cross, a book, a glass of water, a strange metal contraption, and a mysterious glowing rectangle. This last made Theo wonder if she might be magical after all--he didn’t recognize the device, and the only objects he knew of that glowed were cursed or otherwise enchanted. As she exited the bathroom and started towards the bed, he noted the moment she realized Theo wasn’t where she had left him--she stopped in her tracks and her shoulders tensed.
He was no stranger to wrestling the muggle way, but he hadn’t really done so since he was a boy, when he and Draco would play fight--or really fight, depending on the matter at hand. He had even taken on Crabbe a couple times, and been close to winning. Anyway, he was sure he could handle this girl, especially since he was growing more and more confident that she was a common muggle. The more he pondered it, in fact, the more confident he was that she had no idea of the wizarding world--after all, he was a known Death Eater, and no Mudblood would have made the mistake of taking him into their home, their bedroom, in fact.
He was on her before she could even turn around, one arm lacing tightly around her neck, knee coming up to jostle her legs so they were unsteady. She was even shorter than he had suspected, the top of her head didn’t even meet his shoulders, and he had a moment to wonder how she had carried him in here, before she dropped all of her weight and leveraged him full over her shoulder.
Hollering Hippogriffs, did that hurt--and apparently she wasn’t done yet.
She quickly kneeled, one leg arching over his chest, and leaned an arm into his throat without hesitation. She glared at him, her breath puffing out onto his face, cool and minty.
He was entirely winded, flat on his back and head spinning, and decided that it might be best that he just rested for a minute--before he gave the whole ‘physical attack’ thing another go. He suspected that were he not injured, he could have turned the situation around for himself (he did have a foot and quite a bit of weight on her), and with his wand, without a doubt, but, well, he had definitely underestimated the girl, and he was a Slytherin--he didn’t take stupid risks.
Theo snapped out of his musings and realized the girl was talking to him.
“...was quite stupid, you’re most definitely concussed, and for God’s sake, I’m helping you! It’s not my fault you were clubbed over the head and left to bleed out in an alleyway in the rain, is it?”
She stared at him like she was expecting a response, but Theo only drew in a rattling breath, a bit affronted at being called stupid even though he had been thinking the same thing only a short minute ago, before she started babbling again.
“Oh, my, I’m sorry for choking you, it’s only that you really shouldn’t have attacked me from behind, I’ve been quite on edge, I thought a warm shower might help me relax but I’ve been quite worried that you were going to die in my bed, and how would I have explained that to anyone, I was going to bring you to the hospital but you were quite adamant that you didn’t want to go, so I brought you here instead and tried to take care of your head…”
As she continued larking on, in a surprisingly warm and quite lovely voice--Theo punted that thought right out of his head--Theo shifted in discomfort, for she was slowly but surely cutting off his air supply. She noticed his movement and stopped her incessant rattling once again to stare at him. He looked pointedly at her arm on his throat, and she gasped in surprise, apparently having forgotten that she was choking the life out of him. She sprang back and shifted her weight so she was basically sitting on his chest, her soft thighs squishing into his sides. He noted that while his legs were free (and feeling quite like deadweight), she had managed to pin his arms beneath her calves. Theo drew in a breath of air and a delightful feeling of relief rushed through him at the unimpeded flow of oxygen.
“So, what’s your name?”
This, he was not expecting. Well, he wasn’t expecting any of this damned situation, but he had just attacked this girl, and she was sitting on top of him, and she wanted to know his name?? What was wrong with her?
“Theodore Knott. Why?”
“Well, Theodore Nott... is it okay if I call you Theo?” He shook his head no.
“Well, Theo, I only think it’s fair that I should know the name of the person who I not only rescued from certain demise in the street, but who attacked me in my own bedroom, don’t you?”
The girl sitting on top of him had the audacity to smirk, and he felt the stirring of something deep in his belly.
“I don’t think my name has anything to do with either of those two things”--well, perhaps it did with the first, but she didn’t know that--”and I didn’t actually ask to be abducted, especially not by a muggle” Theo sneered the last part, although he felt a bit half-hearted about that whole bit at the moment.
The girl narrowed her eyes at him and deliberately wrapped two small hands around his throat, squeezing briefly, before relaxing her grip a bit. Theo, who was making like he had been hit with a full-body bind in an effort not to be choked again, noticed she didn’t remove her hands from his neck after this little display.
“A muggle? What kind of insult is that, dickhead? Listen, I know your type, you rich boys all have that same eau de Prat drifting about you, but I did you a favor, you were unconscious and if I hadn’t taken you in, stray that you are, you would have bled out. You should think twice before speaking to me like that again, especially when I haven’t eaten yet because I was worrying about your sorry ass. I won’t be disrespected in my own house. Well, apartment. And I’m renting, so it’s not technically mine. But the point stands! I won’t hesitate to throttle the living daylights out of you, and you should know that I know nine ways to kill a man, and I welcome the opportunity to test those methods out on a living subject!”
This muggle girl was an enigma, and Theo was unsure of how to proceed. She had, afterall, just repeatedly insulted him and then threatened to kill him, and although it sounded like she had never done so before, he didn’t want to underestimate her again.
“Sorry,” Theo breathed out shortly, although he didn’t really mean it. She looked surprised as she loosened her grip even more and leaned her warm weight back onto his chest again, her eyes softening at him.
“Well, you have hit your head, I suppose you must be a bit confused and frightened at waking up in a strange place, but I really was just trying to help, I’m a nurse, well, a nursing student, and the whole point is to help those in need. So I guess I should probably get off of you in that case, I didn’t mean to crush you, but you really shouldn’t sneak up on a girl, more of us are trained in self-defense than you might realize, although probably not enough of us, my brother teaches a class so I’ve been taking lessons since I was twelve, I’m quite good, sometimes I even assist him in teaching--” She cut herself off and drew in a sharp breath, closing her eyes for a second.
Theo, still trapped beneath her, resisted the urge to roll his eyes. It was bad enough that he had been abducted by the muggle, but did she have to be so incessantly chatty?
“I’m sorry, I’m not usually so, well, talkative, or y’know, prone to flipping people, at least outside of my defense lessons, but I’m a bit nervous since I’ve never had a concussed man in my room, and you’re quite--” She cut herself off again and broke their eye contact, looking embarrassed, and a rosy flush rose over her neck to her cheeks. That strange feeling stirred in Theo’s belly again, and he raised his eyebrows at her.
“As much as I’m enjoying the show, d’you think you could get off?” He drawled up at her, channeling Malfoy. “You’re a bit too small to be crushing, but my head is indeed aching a bit.”
She shot to her feet, and Theo ignored the strange feeling of loss that rose in his chest as cool air hit his front, and the bouncing of her breasts as she moved.
“Sorry, sorry,” she breathed, and extended a hand out to him. Raising his eyebrows again, Theo grasped it with his own, deciding not to notice how delicate her fingers felt in his larger grip, or that he was holding hands with a muggle, and allowed her to help tug him up from the ground. They were standing quite close and he fairly towered over her. His head spun with the change in position, and he stumbled slightly, his vision blurring, and he was only slightly aware of her dragging his arm over her shoulder and pulling him across the room, pushing him backwards so his knees buckled and he sat heavily on the bed.
Remembering suddenly why he felt so disgustingly vulnerable, he focused in on the muggle girl with some effort and grabbed her wrist, pulling her toward him--”Where’s my wand? Where’s my wand, I need it--”
She stared at him, her brow creasing as she attempted to shake him off her wrist without success. “Wand? What the bloody hell are you talking about?”
“Y’know, stick of wood, 11 inches, Yew, with a unicorn-tail core, never leave home without it?”
“Unicorn-tail? Are you feverish? Or is this some sort of new drug that you smoke?” She frowned at him in disbelief and leaned forward, nestling herself between his long legs and reaching up to place that soft hand across his forehead once more. Theo did feel a bit hot, although he scoffed at the idea of drugs, but this was more urgent.
“Please, do you have the clothes I was wearing? It might be in the pocket...” Theo desperately hoped the wand was in his pockets, and not lying on the street in some alleyway, or worse, in the possession of Dean Thomas and whoever had knocked him out.
“Erm, yeah, they’re downstairs, I was going to put them in the wash. Let me take a look at your head-wound, and then I’ll go grab them so you can find this-- this wand. Maybe it’s in the pockets.”
Theo protested that she should get the clothes now, who cares about his head, but when she narrowed her eyes at him and pushed him back into the pillows threateningly, he quieted, still a bit wary that she might actually decide to kill him if she felt insulted. He didn’t know exactly how muggles felt about killing and she had proven that she was capable, at least while he was in this state--and maybe even when he was at peak health, he admitted.
If he had his wand, none of that would matter, of course--but he was a bit surprised to realize that he wasn’t certain he would want to use his magic against her, even if he was able to. He felt quite odd at the thought of this silly girl being hurt, even by him. Quite odd, indeed. He decided to worry about that bizarre development later, and pushed it out of his mind.
Theo’s curiosity suddenly returned to him “How exactly did I get in these clothes anyway? Whose are they?” He tried to look casual, as if it was every day he woke up in someone else’s clothes with no idea how he got there. He wondered if she had a boyfriend, if that’s why she had these oversize clothes, not that he cared.
“Oh,” She seemed to have a tendency to blush, and he found he rather enjoyed making her do so. “Those are mine, I, erm, sometimes buy oversized clothes because, well, they’re rather cozy, aren’t they?” She glanced at him and he raised his eyebrow. She blurted “I put you in them, your other ones were rather damp from the rain and a bit muddy, and I was worried you might catch cold and it was also a bit easier than changing the sheets if they got muddy, y’know, it’s rather difficult for us short folks. But don’t worry! I didn’t, y’know look, or anything, well, rude, and I left your pants on--” she blushed darker at this-- “and I work at the hospital so I’ve changed people’s clothes before, so really it’s not--” She cut herself off and glanced at him again, examined his face quickly, and seemed to realize he was amused by her predicament.
He definitely wasn’t smiling because they weren’t her boyfriend’s clothes, that’s for certain.
She rolled her eyes, at herself or at him, he wasn’t sure, and returned her attention to the task of healing him.
***
She had dropped all of the supplies she had gathered in the bathroom during their tussle, so she gathered everything back up, refilling the glass in the bathroom, and dropped it all on the bed next to him before climbing right on up next to him. She leaned over him to turn a bedside lamp on with a click, her hair wafting that enticing combination of citrus and lavender towards him, and he marvelled at the strange means of lighting, squinching his eyes shut against it--he had thought the muggles didn’t have magic, but what was the source of this bright light, then?--and then she leaned back once more and cracked open the white chest, grabbing some of the supplies hidden within.
She drew up onto her knees so she was taller than him and started dabbing and poking at his head. She was quite gentle, but Theo hissed in pain and flinched when she hit a particularly tender spot.
“Sorry! I’m just trying to clear the blood away better so I can assess the damage,” she whispered. He shrugged and braced himself, opening his eyes to see what was going on, only to shut them again quickly at the sight of those pert breasts sitting right in front of him, groaning inwardly as a bolt of desire raced through him. The camisole clung to them in an absolutely sinful manner, and was borderline transparent in the brightness of the lamp, her dusky nipples shadowed against the baby-blue material.
He tried turning his head up towards her to escape the view and see if she was doing it on purpose. He only got a small glance at her focused eyes, scrunched up nose, and slightly poking pink tongue--a mask of total concentration--before she impatiently pushed his head back down so she could continue her stinging ministrations to his injury. He gulped, and tried to subtly rearrange his legs as he stared at her tits, telling himself she had basically forced him to. He tried to remember the last time he had had anyone in his bed, or been this close to a girl’s chest, and had little success.
There wasn’t much time for courting, or even casual romping, as a Death Eater. Theo did not particularly relish the idea of caring enough about anybody for them to be used against him, nor did the idea of forcing any unwilling party to fulfil his desires particularly appeal to his sensibilities. He and Blaise occasionally messed around when one of them was particularly desperate, or after an especially harrowing mission, but he was cautious of his actions around women. He knew he would be expected to secure a Pureblood wife soon, and he was hanging on to the hope that she wouldn’t be someone he utterly detested. He hadn’t met anyone who met that expectation quite yet.
“Okay, now this won’t hurt a bit,” her soft voice called down to him, and he narrowed his eyes at the obvious lie, gathering his strength--and then she set his fucking head on fire. At least, that’s what it felt like, and he groaned out in pain, his hand shooting up to grab her wrist again. What the hell was she doing to him? “Don’t be such a baby, Theo--” she snarked, trying to pull her arm free from his grasp, glancing down at him to gauge his reaction.
He glared at her with venom, and saw her draw back a little, her eyes widening in apprehension. “It’s just to clean the wound, you were lying there in the street for who knows how long and it could’ve been infected--”
Sensing the beginning of some rambling, Theo decided he’d rather she set his head on fire again than listen, and interrupted her before she could get going. “Just keep going. It’s fine.”
He was a bit satisfied that he was still apparently scary in his wounded state, but was once again struck by the odd feeling that had risen in his chest at the sight of fear in her warm eyes. It was unsettling, an emotion he hadn’t felt since the last time he had faced, well, Granger. And Theo may not be the most eagerly emotional person, but even he knew he was a bit in love with Granger. It wasn’t uncommon in the Death Eater ranks--they all hated the fiery Mudblood witch a little too much for it to be anything else.
He identified the odd feeling as protectiveness before deciding to definitely ignore that and go back to staring at her tits. The girl was wrapping something soft around his head now, tugging at his hair gentle every now and then. The pain had receded significantly. She leaned up even more, securing the bandage on the side of his head, and Theo groaned out loud this time as she drew even closer to his face.
He couldn’t resist. The temptation was too great, and he was a young man, faced with an absolutely lovely pair of breasts, muggle or not. He pretended to swoon and fell forward so his cheeks were cushioned on either side.
“Oh my goodness, Theo, are you alright?” She pulled enticingly at the hair on top of his head, and he groaned again, turning his head and rolling his eyes, amused at her exclamation--he certainly had nothing to do with goodness--although this was disguised as a dizzied fluttering of his lashes. Was she that innocent?
He decided to push his luck, and nudged his face into the side of her breast, even mouthing at it a bit. She froze--sensitive, he thought--and he exhaled heavily from his mouth, watching her nipple harden slowly under his breath, through the material of the camisole. He pretended to come to, falling back into the pillows with a huff and lazily opening his eyes to her stare. He could hardly keep a smirk off his face.
“Sorry, I just felt a bit, er, woozy, for a moment there,” He explained innocently.
“Oh. Yeah. No problem. Of course! For a second there I thought-- Well, but no, of course, woozy, that makes sense! Now let me check your vision, we’ll see if you’re concussed, although if you’re still feeling dizzy I wouldn’t be surprised if--”
Suddenly feeling charmed by the girl’s endless stream of consciousness, Theo picked up on the embarrassment in her tone of voice--was she embarrassed at the idea of him feeling her up for propriety’s sake, or because she was disappointed?
“You never told me your name, love,” Theo interrupted, suddenly curious. He didn’t want to just keep calling her ‘muggle girl’ in his head. No, this girl with the striking face and delightfully soft breasts deserved a name.
“Oh! How rude of me to not have introduced myself. I’m Bianca,” She shifted back, her legs folded beneath her, so they were closer to eye level again. She stuck out a hand, and he proceeded to leave a lingering kiss on her knuckles, staring up at her through his lashes. She drew in a breath in surprise, her free hand fluttering about without her seeming to realize.
“Bianca,” he breathed out against her hand. “Is that Shakespearean?”
She flushed again, her cheeks stained with rose. “Not many would recognize... My mother is a romantic. I would have been Katherina, but Mom had a classmate who she feuded with when she was a girl..”
Bianca seemed a bit flustered--apparently, kissing a woman’s hand was not muggle custom. It was hardly wizarding custom, except among Purebloods. She stared at their joined hands, and a slow smile spread across her face. She looked up at him, almost shyly, and Theo felt like he was drowning in the delicious heat of her eyes. It felt like his hand and lips were on fire, and he never wanted it to stop. Never wanted to let her go.
As that strange thought raced across his mind unbidden, he blinked and drew back, releasing her hand and breaking the moment. She seemed to come back to herself as well, and Theo wondered if she had been thinking, feeling, the same things he was. Not that it mattered. It wouldn’t do, not at all, to be having such strange and sudden things overcome him, certainly not with a muggle!
Bianca. What a beautiful name.
Suddenly, a strange growling noise filled the room, and Theo glanced around wildly, searching for the threat. Bianca giggled, sounding a bit unhinged, and clutched at her stomach. “Sorry. I haven’t eaten, I just got off my 12-hour shift when I found you, and I forgot to bring lunch, but the cafeteria food is rather disgusting so--”
Theo was dismayed at his own rudeness. “I apologize for keeping you from satisfying your hunger. And for imposing on you. Thank you for helping me, Bianca.”
She laughed again, and Theo found himself longing to hear the sweet sound over and over. He wasn’t used to anyone laughing in his presence--especially not pretty muggle girls, not that he encountered too many of those. If he did, they usually were screaming, not in a pleasant way.
“Oh it’s alright, Theo, I’m used to being on my feet for a while. And I shouldn’t have forgotten my lunch. I’m glad I found you--who knows what would’ve happened to you if I hadn’t.” She paused, hesitant. “On that note… do you have any idea how you were injured? If there’s someone running around out there hitting people over the head, I should probably alert.. Well, I don’t trust the police, but there’s a community watch leader I could call.”
Theo was shaking his head before he finished, ignoring the increase in throbbing pain in his head. “No, no, it was nothing like that. I wasn’t watching where I was going, and slipped on some wet paving stones, I hit my head on the ground. The only attacker anyone needs to be alerted of is my own clumsiness” Theo laughed gently, and hoped he had convincingly sold his lie. She couldn’t know what had happened--he somehow suspected that she wouldn’t approve of his threatening, hunting, or torturing activities. And he didn’t want to see those soft, beautiful eyes harden towards him.
She smiled back at him, still looking a bit hesitant. “Okay, well, if you happen to remember anything differently, y’know later on, you can tell me. You can trust me, y’know, Theo.”
She reached a hand up to slowly cup his face, and thumbed gently at his injured temple, eyes full of concern and kindness and care--
Theo’s insides hurt. “Okay, love” he murmured in reply. He was positive he could indeed trust her, to take care of him and listen and maybe even love him, if he gave her the chance. But he could never tell her the truth. Not really. And it hurt more than the Cruciatus to know that he would never get the chance to know what it felt like to be loved by this sweet, trusting muggle girl, by Bianca. “We should get you something to eat,” he changed the subject.
“Oh! Good idea. Hmm. I wonder what’s in the fridge…” She seemed to become lost in her musings for a moment, and Theo wondered what a ‘fridge’ was. “How do you feel about walking around and stretching your legs a bit after I check your eyes? You can rest here if you’re not feeling up to it, of course.” She tilted her head at him appraisingly. He thought of his wand.
“Stretching my legs sounds like a good idea, actually,” he replied. Bianca beamed at him, and Theo felt like he could see the sun.