Chapter Text
"Oh for Merlin's sake Blaise!" Theo yelled over his friend's snoring. He threw a pillow across the dorm room before burrowing himself in his blankets. A second later, Blaise's loud snoozing sounds became even more obnoxious. Their other dorm mate, Draco, was out partying on Sunday evening even when he had a 7:40 a.m Herbology lesson all the way in the greenhouses. Theo resorted to hexing the man before Blaise tumbled out of bed, groaning at Theo's retaliation. Sharing a dorm with 2 other seventeen-year-olds was not the best decision Hogwarts has made in its dreadful years. Blaise climbed back up to his mattress as Theo cast a quick silencing charm. Thankfully, the snoring stopped and he was greeted with sleep.
But it wasn't for long until the door slammed open with a drunken Draco staggering in. Theo rolled his eyes at him before watching Draco flop onto his bed and quickly fall asleep. Theo thanked his lucky stars that he was granted more than 6 hours of sleep. More than he had this past week. It was a few weeks into November and the boys had gotten comfortable with their living situation. Post-war life was anything but easy. Mostly everyone had come back to finish their seventh year, with the exception of Harry, who had become the youngest Head of the DMLE along with the title as Head Auror. And Ron Weasley who helped his older brother at the joke shop.
Theo got ready for classes and debated on wearing his glasses. His vision had gone downhill after the war and found the need to squint in order to see things at a distance. Pansy had mentioned once or twice that he was going to get wrinkles that way while Daphne hummed in agreement. He made his way to the Great Hall for breakfast when he caught sight of Draco resting his head against the Slytherin table. His eyes were closed and features scrunched up in aggravation. Apparently, the mixture of loud chattering, bright sunlight, and clanking of breakfast items was not a good way to start a morning after his careless partying.
Theo grinned to himself, knowing that his friend would have to spend an hour listening to Slughorn rumble nonsense for hours on end while suffering through a painful hangover.
Blaise was stuffing his face with toast and had his eyes trained on the Ravenclaw table. Theo followed his vision to Luna Lovegood who was helping younger students with their belongings and explaining what a Blibbering Humdinger was. He swallowed the lump in his throat as he came to the explicable realization that Blaise regularly stared at the ditzy blonde. Theo remembered catching Blaise volunteering to be Luna's partner in potions or how he would 'casually' take the long route to Defense Against the Dark Arts in order to cross paths with her. Theo felt uneasy at the thought.
Daphne was handing Draco a pepper up potion and rubbing soothing circles on his back as Theo watched Draco fight the urge to vomit. He gagged down the potion before chasing the taste away with tea that Pansy had the elves prepare just the way they liked it. Pansy was always the mother of the group and sort of the girlfriend of Theo. They were never linked romantically but Theo always thought they had a spark between them. Someone who had curly hair and in red robes stormed up to their table while he heard Draco swear under his breath. Theo looked up to see Hermione Granger scowling down at the blonde with fire in her chestnut eyes.
"Malfoy, can I have a word?" Hermione asked through gritted teeth. Theo knew McGonagall had selected them to be the Heads of the year. He never understood why. But he figured it was a part of the grand scheme of igniting inter-house unity.
"Of course, Granger. As long as I don't have to listen to you talk about Hogwarts: A History for the tenth time," Draco reluctantly got up and trudged behind her, clenching his fists at his sides and giving her a sick smile. Hermione pressed her lips together and left with Draco by her side. Theo laughed, taking humour in knowing that his friend was slowly dying inside. Even more so while enduring one of the Golden Girl's many lectures. Merlin forbid she talk about anything without chastising someone.
Who knew a witch as bright as Granger could be so dull? No wonder why the redhead sidekick had broken up with her. Word has it that he's been shagging an American model on the side to make up for the loss of spirit for when he was dating Granger.
"Well I'm off," Daphne stood as she gathered up her things inside of her satchel, "I'm going to hang around the Hufflepuff quidditch locker rooms. It would be a good start to find an innocent boyfriend that I could ruffle up. Someone is bound to be shirtless in there." She shrugged and walked off without another peep.
"Wasn't she just dating that hunk from Gryffindor a few days ago? What's his name again? Dean or something?" Pansy fashioned a quizzical look as she wrapped her hands around a mug and sipped her tea in an elegant manner. Theo shrugged before kicking Blaise under the table and stabbing a piece of bacon with his fork.
"What was that for?" Blaise glared at him while he rubbed his injured shin. Theo's friends were never known for the subtlety. Just look back on sixth year alone. They had shared dorms since they were eleven years old. And Draco thought his mates didn't notice when he cried himself to sleep every night and blamed his puffy eyes on allergies. And he isn't even allergic to anything. Except for admitting when he's wrong. Not even Blaise's incessant staring could get past Theo's eagle eyes.
The Nott heir was known for his ability to pick up on things others wouldn't have noticed. For example, when Draco returned to their dorms drunk, he would usually say he drank firewhiskey but Theo was the only one who knew he was intoxicated off of spiked butterbeer. Or the fact that Pansy picks at the threads of her robes when she's stressed.
"You were staring. Again," Theo said sharply as he gulped down his pumpkin juice. Blaise scoffed but didn't deny his claims. Pansy looked even more confused but when Draco returned, it seemed like she had forgotten what she was going to ask about Theo's implication. Blaise raised an eyebrow as the three of them analyzed Draco's drained state. It looked like Granger had beaten him while he was down. The blonde man groaned and grabbed the handles of his school bag.
"That woman is mental. She's driving me insane, I tell you! A complete nutcase. I took the mickey out of her once and suddenly I'm a bad person," Draco bitterly spat as he suddenly looked at his friends.
"What did she do this time?" Pansy asked as the time when they split for classes neared.
They all had separate first periods. Draco had Charms, Blaise had Muggle Studies, Pansy had Care of Magical Creatures, Daphne had History of Magic, and Theo had Herbology. Then, they'd all regroup and split into groups during the second period until lunch. Theo and Blaise had Defense Against the Dark Arts. Pansy and Daphne were off to Transfiguration while Draco opted to have Ancient Runes with Granger. Malfoy didn't have classes with them until the second half of the day for Potions and Arithmancy. It was odd not having each of them in every single class together for the first time ever. Since they were eleven, they had fallen into the path of sharing everything together. Classes, dorms, everything down to the knut.
"Granger yelled at me twice for my intolerant behaviour in Ancient Runes and then proceeded to ridicule me on how I'm not taking my return to Hogwarts to finish up my NEWTS seriously. How dare she act like she knows me or my intentions? I tried to shut her up but there was no use in it. The bloody witch kept rambling on and on and on about my Head Boy duties as if I didn't already know. Can you even believe that load of fucking rubbish?" Draco scoffed as his cheeks flared with a fuming red. Theo noticed that his mood was greatly determined by how Granger treated him. If she ignored him, he was sulky. If she screamed bloody murder at him, he was enthusiastic. If she said something to embarrass him, he resented everyone and called them a 'bitch.'
"Then what did you do about it?" Pansy pressed, inspecting her perfectly manicured nails. Theo had chosen the colour for the week. It was a dark burgundy and it complimented the ruby ring he gifted her one Christmas. Draco shrugged before rubbing his temple.
"Nothing!" He said before breaking out into a smirk suddenly. Theo found the expression unnerving in a way. Draco was just complaining about his fellow classmate and now it looked like he had some secret joke that he was keeping for himself. Theo never understood why Draco was the way he was. He never did things the conventional way. He was brought up to think that everything he did was superior to others. Even when he was courting a girl, he only did the grandest gestures anyone could think of. A girl he fancies does so much as mention that she likes the smell of roses? Draco would have already bought her a French chateau with its very own rose garden that extended for over an acre of land.
"If you hate it so much, why are you smirking?"
"I'm not smirking," Draco snapped. He craned his neck to stretch it before lifting his arms over his neck and yawning. Theo shrugged off his suspicions before eating another spoonful of his breakfast. It suddenly tasted bland after witnessing his best friends suddenly become busy with the opposite sex. Blaise licking his lips at the sight of Lovegood, Daphne trying to snog Hufflepuffs, Draco becoming irritated with Granger. The only normal person at the moment was Pansy. She smiled brightly at Theo and her arm was interlocked with his. Soon, breakfast was over and they went their separate ways for 45 minutes.
Theo walked down the gardens and the sun was unusually shining bright on this November morning, too much for his liking. He had Herbology with a mixture of students from all grades. He took a seat on a stool in the back of the greenhouse, no one paid attention to him. They usually brushed past him while everyone else contributed to the lessons. Theo would usually sketch photos of the plants and zone out to lose himself in drawing. He would always stay with the same two people. A female sixth-year Gryffindor, Demelza Robins, he thinks her name is. And a seventh year Slytherin, Timothy Morcott who would usually sleep throughout the period.
He was glad that Professor Sprout never called on him to answer any questions. There was always a Herbology know-it-all in every class. For example, in this particular setting, there was one girl who always had her hand up for everything. Her name was Hannah Abbott. Theo heard things around the halls and especially from his gossiping alliance Pansy Parkinson. Hannah was Longbottom's intended after Hogwarts. Both Pureblood which was convenient for the Abbott family, who was still trying to eradicate their pureblood supremacist beliefs. However, Longbottom and Hannah were in love, not just putting on a show for a contract.
Unlike the unfortunate romances of other pureblood families. They married for power. Love was never something they believed in. Most of the heirs didn't even know how love was supposed to feel like.
His mother had passed away shortly after he was born and Theo barely even had a father from his infant years. The only person that showed a subtle amount of care for him was his friends. Daphne and Pansy always made sure the males in their group felt like a part of the family. Especially after the two had become step-sisters. Pansy's mother and Daphne's father had died during the end of the First Wizarding War. So that left for the remaining parents to obviously unite their families together.
The class went by easily enough. The usual cycle of being ignored and left to loosely pay attention to the lesson had not changed. He continued to draw a picture of the Whomping Willow and capture the essence of the branches violently waving in the air.
He walked up the stairs and into the seventh-floor corridor for Divination. He quite liked the quirkiness of their Seer Professor. The way she explained things with such emotion had always captivated him. Don't get him wrong though, he thought the subject, in general, was rubbish. But the teacher made it bearable. He took a seat on a cushion at the front of the class, making room for Daphne who shared this class with him. His friend had made it in before the bell rung and flopped onto the seat beside him. She dropped her face into her hands and muttered curse words to herself.
As thought took out his inkpot and scroll of parchment he glanced over at her. "Is something wrong, Daph?" He concernedly questioned as she rapidly shook her head.
"No—I mean yes—wait. No—yes—no—ugh," she groaned in frustration and tugged at her hair. Her cheeks were flushed into a shade of red. One that Theo had come to recognize as an after-effect of her being embarrassed, "I ran into Zacharias Smith."
Theo raised an eyebrow. His name had entered a few of their conversations. Usually, she'd talk about how good looking he was or how amazing he was at quidditch. Funny enough, the two never even interacted. They lived in separate worlds and lead separate lives. Daphne was raised to believe that the rich guys were the best guys. That they were the blueprint of marriage material. And Zacharias was anything but. He had no manners, talked out of turn, he occasionally wore his robes inside out, and most of all—he wasn't pureblood. Even her younger sister, Astoria, hadn't given up the urge to marry a pureblood. But Daphne wasn't like her.
"And?" Theo drawled as he watched Trelawney flounce about the classroom. She handed everyone a pamphlet on this term's lessons and Theo glanced down at it before looking back up at Daphne. Her jaw was still open and looked in shock as if she were replaying her actions, "oh dear Circe's lovely tits, just spit it out already! You're killing me here."
"Alright," Daphne said as Trelawney passed by them again, "I may or may not have asked him to dinner at the Three Broomsticks." She played with her wand and cast her eyes downward. Theo smirked and declined in his chair. His friends were so daft sometimes. They are hopeless romantics and at the top of the list was Daphne, "well? Aren't you going to say something? I know how much you and Draco make fun of Hufflepuffs. So go on then, get it out of your system."
"What did he say?" Theo surprised her by answering in such a way. Her eyes widened before she blushed again. What was with all of these expressions?
"I wouldn't know—I bolted before he could give me an answer," Theo barked out a laugh and she scowled at him. It was enough to rival the one Pansy usually gave him when he forgot to kiss her cheek in the mornings. Daphne swatted his shoulder to stop him from chuckling, "stop it. It really isn't funny, Theo! It was really traumatizing for me. Oh god, he must think I'm a total stupid bint, right? I can practically see it painting in the Hufflepuff common room. He's probably telling that no-good Macmillan about today. Gloating that he got a Slytherin to be at their most vulnerable. Oh god." She put her face in her hands again. Theo put a comforting hand on her arm that was shielding her face.
"He probably doesn't think you're pathetic. You are just going through the initial shock. I'm sure it's not as bad as you think. You're just overreacting about this," Theo assured her. She nodded before Trelawney continued her listen. The class passed by quickly and so had third period. Their friend group broke away once more. He walked into the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom and dreaded the new Professor. It was a somewhat younger man named Thomas Tring. He captured the attention of all of his female students, and some of his female colleagues as well. He would hear whispers about him from the new Muggle studies and Transfiguration teacher, Hope Burbage, Charity's younger sister, and Jade Hatton. Even their peers giggled about boys.
Defense Against the Dark Arts went slow, just as he expected. He took rigorous notes about their lesson about dark magic backlash. He looked at Blaise who was deep in thought as well. Probably thinking back to the moment right before class started. When Blaise accidentally bumped into Lovegood and he dropped his books. She gave a breezy apology and a bright smile while she helped him gather his belongings. Her wounds had long faded but there was a slight yellow on her pale skin from where a black eye used to take over her features and scars on her wrist from when she was bound with rope in order to prevent her escape.
Blaise hadn't forgotten.
Theo tried to take his mind off things by focusing on school. But everything bubbled down to the aftermath of the war. Lost in his drowning pondering, he didn't even notice that class ended. Blaise had to tip him out of his chair in order for him to leave the classroom. They walked together to the Great Hall. Daphne had begged them to form a circle around her to hide her from the Hufflepuff table as they walked to their usual spot. Theo saw that Draco was there before any of them. He was currently in a heated conversation with Granger and it did not look pretty.
"Well if you just used what was left of your ferret sized brain, then we wouldn't even be having this conversation in the first place! Did they teach you this in finishing school? How to properly act half-arsed in a meeting with the Headmistress? Good going, Malfoy, now we will have to be spending extra hours together to organize this damn thing! If you had just stayed quiet, I wouldn't have to take time out of my busy schedule for this stupid event that you had just somehow created!" Granger screeched, her long curls spiralling over her shoulders as she gave the fiercest glare that Theo had ever seen. And Theo had the pleasure of witnessing Pansy go haywire over two different shades of green.
"Well, I'm sorry! Not all of us are always prepared for what the world throws at them, Granger. And if you hadn't noticed, it takes two people to cause havoc in a meeting. Maybe if you hadn't volunteered us for the task, we could have had the other prefects do it for us!" He seethed through gritted teeth. His jaw and fist were clenched while he stared cooly into Granger's honey brown eyes. Draco had shed his robes and placed them on the table as he crossed his arms over his jumper and huffed in her face. The height difference between them was almost comical.
"And what? Make them suffer for your clueless suggestion? I would not let poor fifth years carry this on their shoulders just because you couldn't keep your mouth shut for half an hour. You just have to be the centre of everything, right? Well if you're so keen on organizing this yourself, then why don't I let you do everything! Because apparently, you don't need my help. And as the famous 'Golden Girl' I commend you for your generous contribution to this castle. You could use your pureblood mannerisms to charm other witches to do your bidding for you," Hermione spat as she rolled her eyes.
She adjusted her robes that were falling off her shoulders and strutted towards the exit of the Great Hall. Ginny Weasley and Longbottom were following her closely behind, both shooting thoughtful glances their way.
Draco huffed and dropped in his seat while the rest of his friend group cautiously approached him with an apprehensive look. The blonde man scoffed as they tiptoed near him and occupied the empty benches beside him.
"Is everything okay?" Pansy asked as she conjured a teacup. It had instantly filled itself with a brew of earl grey as she topped it off with some milk. Blaise did the same by keeping his eye on his clearly distressed friend.
"Yeah. It's just that Granger is still the swot we all know and hate," Draco rolled his eyes, "we had a meeting with McGonagall earlier and it did not go as we planned. We initially met for the purpose of organizing a post-war donation day but I just had to propose a different proposition. A ball." Blaise spat out his tea before Daphne conjured a napkin for him.
"I'm sorry. I think I misheard you, could you repeat that?" Blaise repeated, clearly doubtful. Everyone's jaws were agape as they stared back at the Head Boy of Hogwarts.
"You heard me correctly." It took a minute for it to register in before Pansy erupted in a set of squeals followed by everyone else groaning. Nobody liked parties except Pansy. She used to host a grand gala every year at the Parkinson estate for the sole reason of showing off her new dress. Theo never minded, as long as he was right beside Pansy through it all.
"I'm going to have to side with Granger on this, there is no way you are getting people to go to this ball. Especially if they know an ex-Death Eater orchestrated it," Blaise shook his head and reached for another piece of toast, "let's be realistic here. No one likes the idea of balls. Except for the ladies, and general sour over here." He glanced at Daphne who gave him a scornful smile in return, "the point is that nobody is going to enjoy themselves."
"It's a charity event," Draco said as he further explained his case, "it was an accidental proposal. I had implied that one measly day to drop off pity donations wasn't nearly enough. So I casually suggested that people would have enjoyed and more enticed to donate it more if it were a party."
"Nearly enough? Your family housed prisoners-"
Draco glared at them. The war was obviously a touchy subject for him, "moving on. This will benefit Malfoy's image. Now I'll have to plan this whole thing since I clearly pissed off the brains of this operation. Should I keep what's left of my dignity or have my eardrums battered up?"
"Take the latter," Blaise said as he stuffed his mouth with another sandwich, "what? A boy can't eat during his lunch period?" His eyes strayed for a moment before he swallowed everything and took a long sip of his pumpkin juice. He stood abruptly, wiping his mouth with his robe sleeve and stood tall. This could only mean one thing—he saw Lovegood, "well, I'll chat with you, peasants, during class. But I've got a date with destiny." With a flirty wink, he set off to find the Ravenclaw who had just skipped out of the Great Hall.
"What do you think I should do?" Draco asked again as he placed his head against his palm that was propped on the table. Pansy elegantly continued to stir her tea, trying to mask the exciting thrill of attending a ball. It had been so long since any of them had gone to a party. They had spent their free time over the summer counting their days in Azkaban before an anonymous voucher helped free them with a single trial.
"Sacrifice yourself on the temple of your pride and give in. Granger is obviously going to get her hands on this project sooner or later so just ask her now before it's too late," Pansy shrugged, side-eyeing Draco's movements. Theo noticed that Pansy would often watch Draco whenever he talked about Granger. Odd.
"Or—"
"Oh, Merlin, let's spare ourselves from having this petty argument. You know I'm right. You know Granger is right. And you know you're wrong. So cheers!" Pansy lifted her teacup and suggestively winked at him. Draco flushed before standing up and leaving without a word of farewell. Apparently, Pansy was known for her ways to get people uncomfortable as well. The blonde girl who was sitting opposite him tensed. Daphne squeaked as she tried to jump up from her seat but she resorted to just hiding.
"What is she doing—?"
"—shh!" Pansy pressed her palm over his mouth as a tall boy in yellow robes with dirty, curly blonde hair awkwardly ambled towards them. Theo peeled her fingers away from his lips as he watched with equivocal fascination. So this was the famous Zacharias Smith. Theo thought he remembered the name. It was Hufflepuff's quidditch captain, a shit one too. But he could see the redness in Daphne's cheekbones as she mustered up the courage to smile at him. It was strained and Daphne looked begrudged to even look at him.
Oh, this was truly pathetic. Pansy was observing in lovestruck awe. Zacharias had a wiry frame and looked almost fragile. He kind of looked like Draco in sixth year, thankfully without the glow of his mental breakdowns and panic attacks in the Room of Requirement. But, Theo couldn't seem to tear his eyes away. He always saw Daphne as a sister and seeing her become flustered with a guy sparked a sense of protectiveness in him.
How he hated this.
But Pansy seemed to enjoy this interaction with her best friend. It was like she had a front-row seat to Daphne's love life. Theo still hated it. Loathed it, every name in the book—he detested it. No one would be good enough for Daphne. He'd be fine knowing she would live the rest of her days as an old maid with a thousand cats. It sounded selfish but he only wanted the best for Daphne and no one came nearly close to being what she needed.
"Er—Daphne—I wanted to speak to you about earlier," he glimpsed at Theo's menacing stare before Pansy jabbed him with her elbow in his ribs, "in private?"
"You can say anything to me in front of them. I promise they won't bite," Daphne said as she looked away. Zacharias scratched the back of his neck. Theo wanted to kill him. Pansy stopped him.
"Alright," he said uneasily, "I wanted to accept your invitation to dinner. I would like it if we went on a date. Although, I'm no pureblood suitor, but I think I was supposed to court you first," Zacharias shyly smiled. He was so innocent. Daphne could easily change that. The knot in Theo's chest had released as he saw relief wash over Daphne's face. Was this how it felt like to have siblings? To feel a constant need to protect them even when you won't admit it? If Smith were to ever hurt her, his Hufflepuff bollocks would be strung as decoration.
"Really?" Daphne tried to ask for confirmation, the hope in her voice was notable. Pansy squeezed Theo's arm but he hardly noticed the pain of her nails digging into his skin. He was too busy thinking of ways to kill Zacharias if he double-crossed his best friend. He nodded as the blush created a vibrant stain on her cheeks. Zacharias hugged her, what if she had suffocated? They were learning hexes in DADA and he would have proudly demonstrated what he had mastered.
"That was—easy?" Daphne looked bewildered as the bell rang, signalling for the next class. They walked as a group towards the dungeons. They split into their default pairings, Theo and Draco, Pansy and Daphne, and Blaise with Luna.
He immediately ditched friends when he realized that Luna didn't have a potions partner yet. He jumped at the opportunity and joined her at the far side of the classroom, away from his friends. Blaise didn't seem to mind. He was surrounded by the know-it-alls from the school. Granger, Weasley, Longbottom, Anthony Goldstein, and other Ravenclaws. The Slytherins normally stuck together after being shunned out of Hogwarts as the 'odd house out.' Luna seemed almost happy to have Blaise as a partner. They worked well together.
"Can you pass me the wormwood?" Theo asked as he looked at Pansy who held the jar of his desired ingredient in her hands. She nodded and gave it to him. They were freestyling potions at the moment, testing out what substances worked together and what didn't. Seamus Finnigan wasn't allowed at a cauldron since he burned his eyebrows off during the first ten minutes of class. So Dean Thomas was working with a younger Gryffindor.
"What are you wearing to the ball?" Theo heard Daphne giggle at Pansy. Pansy whispered something back as Daphne gasped and hit her arm playfully. Draco paid no attention to his cauldron or his friends and instead, stared a hole right through Granger's head. His grey eyes were burning with fire that was ignited from hatred, frustration, and bitterness.
Theo had to kick him under the table. Again.
When Draco didn't budge, he took over the whole project. He chopped ingredients, stirred the brew, measured essence, logged his progress, and counted the seconds Draco didn't blink from glaring at Granger. The record was a minute and three seconds long. His eyes flickered for a moment and wavered as Hermione pulled her hair back with a clip and bit her lip. The fire was different now. It wasn't fueled with resentment. But a flare filled with desire and lust. Horrible, terrible, no-good desire.
"Would you get a load of that waffle?" Draco stirred the contents of their brew with a metal rod. Theo paid no attention to his partner as he chopped up some jewelweed plants. He sliced them on his cutting board before looking up to find Draco staring intently at Granger from across the room. He was glaring at her—which was not unusual behaviour on Draco's part. Theo moved out to measuring hellebore syrup. Theo noticed that Granger was leaning suspiciously close to Anthony Goldstein who held a cheerful smile.
Oh. Oh shit.
Theo was centimetres away from cutting off his thumb as he came to the blinding realization about his friend. Draco fancied Granger! Theo nearly toppled over in hilarity but Pansy's kick to his shin next to him was enough to stop his outburst. The female Slytherin was continuing her concoction with Daphne.
Slughorn was assessing everyone's cauldrons when he stopped by Granger's. Draco visibly stiffened but continued stirring their potion. Theo willed every bone in his body that Draco wouldn't cause a scene. Their professor yelped with an enthusiastic cry.
"Look here, everyone! Miss Granger and Mister Goldstein have successfully brewed a draft of Felix Felicis. Only the most skilful potion masters have brewed such a thing. And teenagers as young as yourselves—truly remarkable!" Slughorn praised the two. Draco rolled his eyes as he watched Granger blush. Anthony was accepting the applause from his fellow Ravenclaw friends and Gryffindor acquaintances.
"Draco? Are you alright? You're looking a bit pale," Daphne queried as she and Pansy ran their eyes on Draco. Theo had to divert his eyes before he broke into an uncontrollable fit of laughter. How could Draco not see it? His frustration towards Granger hadn't been based on her snooty, know-it-all personality—but his unidentified attraction towards her. Just wait until Blaise hears of this. They're going to be taking the mickey out of him until the day he dies.
"What's so funny, Theo?" Pansy questioned as Theo bit back another grin. Oh, they were so sinfully clueless. Theo shook his head as he spotted Blaise trying to flirt with Lovegood. Her wide, blue eyes were staring up at him. The reflection of her radish earrings was noticeable from a mile away. Her blonde hair was straightened—which was out of character for her. Usually, she'd keep it curly and spirited or into a loose braid. Blaise seemed to like the new look but not nearly as much as it was naturally. Did everyone in his friend group have to be so obvious?
"Nothing—it's just that you've been complaining about Granger a lot recently," Theo innocently insinuated. It seemed like no one had picked up on his subtle innuendo. And it could possibly stay that way until Draco wakes up from his oblivious haze.
Theo came to many conclusions. One of them was the fact that Draco was royally fucked, whether he was aware of it or not. Second, Daphne had fallen for a Hufflepuff. Third, Blaise was madly in love with Lovegood, who Theo thought played for the other team. Finally, the only person keeping him sane was Pansy, and he didn't even ask her to be his girlfriend yet.
And they say romance is dead.