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"You know what I think we all need after getting through our OWLs?" Daphne questioned loudly, sitting down among her friends in the Slytherin common room.
"What?" Mattheo asked, after seeing that no one else was going to say anything.
"Some rest and relaxation," she continued, "Perhaps on the sunny beaches of California?"
Draco looked at Daphne curiously, "You want us to go to California?"
She nodded, "My family has a beach house out there."
"It doesn't sound like a bad idea," Blaise added, "Who are you inviting?"
"All of you, obviously," she gestured to the people around her, which consisted of Mattheo, Blaise, Draco, Theo and Pansy, "And Millicent... and my parents would insist on me inviting Y/N if I use the beach house."
"Y/N? As in Y/N L/N? The weird Ravenclaw girl?" Blaise asked.
"She's not as weird as you think," Daphne rolled her eyes, "I grew up with her - she's just quiet."
Draco shook his head, "Whatever, I'll come as long as L/N's not a mudblood."
Daphne sighed, "She's not, but I don't see what difference that makes."
"What is she?" Pansy asked.
"Half-blood. That good enough for you blood status elitists?"
At the lack of response, Daphne stood up, "So, is that a yes from all of you? You'll come?"
They all muttered "yeah"s, apart from one.
"Nott, you gonna come?"
The boy's sharp blue eyes looked up at her, and while he appeared hesitant, he still nodded his head.
"Perfect, I'll go find Millicent... and then Y/N."
***
"Y/N," Daphne approached you in the library, and you looked at her curiously. Sure, you were childhood friends, but she generally didn't speak to you all that much anymore. "I wanted to invite you to my beach house this summer... in Cali."
Your eyes widened slightly, and you frowned at her, before asking quietly, "With who?"
"Uh, so we're looking at Malfoy, Zabini, Riddle, Parkinson, Bullstrode and Nott."
You chewed on your lip, thinking it over.
Sensing your hesitation, Daphne continued, "C'mon! We need you to balance out the girls and guys... it'll be fun!"
You frowned at her.
"We won't force you to hang out with us. You can share a room with me and you can shut yourself in there all day," she said, sitting down across from you, "I'm not just asking you because my parents would want me too... I figured you would want to avoid being home anyway."
That had you sighing, "Yeah, okay, I'll come."
Daphne's eyes brightened, "Really? Okay. Amazing. I'll owl you all the details."
You nodded, watching as she walked away with a spring in her step. Rowena, to have her confidence.
***
It was a sunny Monday morning when you appeared in the fireplace of Daphne's beach house with a brush of soot on your nose. Only Daphne was there thus far, as she had allowed you to travel earlier so as to settle in before the others arrived. She greeted you with a hug that made you stiffen up - she quickly pulled back and apologised.
"Our room is the first one on the right," she said, gesturing to the stairs that could be seen through the open door to the hallway, "Feel free to look around, and help yourself to anything in the kitchen."
You nodded, "Thanks."
"No worries," she waved her hand, "The others will be here in about a half hour."
And they were.
Zabini was the first to arrive, shortly followed by Parkinson, and then Bullstrode. Riddle came moments before Nott, with Malfoy as the last arrival.
You stood far back from the main living room, in the doorway to the hall, and watched as the friend group greeted each other warmly. All except Nott, who stood a bit away from them all with his hands shoved in his pockets and his expression unreadable. He must have felt your curious gaze on him, because his eyes flicked towards you, which made you panic and duck behind the wall. Cautiously, you then peered out again, to see that he was still looking in your direction with his brows furrowed - this time you found yourself unable to look away, despite the anxiety swarming inside of you.
"Alright," Daphne then announced, clapping her hands together so as to attract the attention of the entire room, "Here's who's sharing. Blaise and Draco, Theo and Mattheo, Pansy and Millicent - go and fight for you rooms or whatever, but the first on the right is mine and Y/N's."
Everyone was a bit too old to participate in a childish competition over bedrooms, so instead they all nodded and picked up their luggage, casually making their way upstairs while chatting to one another. All, of course, except Theodore Nott, who took up the back of the party and lingered beside you in the hallway for the briefest of moments.
Daphne remained stood in the lounge, watching as the others left, and made eye contact with you the second they were all gone.
"Nott caught your attention?" she said immediately, which instantly got a panicked reaction out of you.
"N- No- I- I just-"
"Babe, it's okay to be attracted to people, you know? That's normal. No need to be ashamed."
You stared at her, as attraction wasn't exactly what had made you look at him - at least not attraction in that way. Still, you did not deny what she said, as someone was coming back downstairs and you didn't want them to overhear any of the conversation.
***
For the first couple of days, you didn't participate in any group activities: you were appreciating being in a safe place for once, and were shy of the others. You hid in your room when they were at the house, and only ventured out when they headed out - which was a lot, considering it was a holiday trip. Eventually, Daphne coaxed you out to join them on a beach trip on day four. You agreed, under the condition that you could stay on the dry sandy shore.
And so there you were, sat on a blanket underneath a parasol, watching the rest of the group throw around a beach ball in the sea not far away. For some reason, Nott wasn't there yet: you hadn't been informed as to why.
You curled your fully clothed arms into your body and watched the others having fun, wishing so badly that you could get rid of the fear in your chest and join in. They all looked so happy, so care-free - well, Draco had appeared to have had something on his mind over the last couple days, but he was letting go for the moment (which was something you could never do).
Then you felt a presence beside you, and turned to see that Nott had arrived - fully clothed, just like you - and taken a seat next to you on the blanket. Alarmed, you jumped a little, not sure how to feel about being so close to someone you hardly knew.
He noticed your fear, and his eyes widened in return, "Sorry," he said quietly, "Didn't mean to scare you."
You nodded as a way of telling him it was fine, watching as his eyes curiously scanned over your features.
"Theo! Where were you, mate?" Riddle called, running up to the parasol from the sea.
The boy in question shrugged.
"Needed some alone time?"
Nott then nodded, and Riddle's expression fell into one of understanding.
"You gonna join us?" he gestured to the rest of the group.
Nott shook his head.
"What about you, L/N?"
You were surprised that he had acknowledged you at all, and if you weren't already relatively mute, it would have rendered you speechless.
Your reaction told Riddle everything he needed to know, and he simply said, "No worries, at least neither of you are alone on the beach, then I'd feel bad," before running back to the water.
"Ice cream," Nott said out of nowhere, making you turn your head to him in confusion. He glanced at you. "I want ice cream."
You stared at him with your head tilted as he stood up.
"Do you... do you want to... come?"
Your head movements were saying 'yes' before your anxiety could counteract them, so you found yourself forced to stand up and follow Nott.
There was an ice cream van parked near the back of the beach, obviously muggle, with a display of both ice creams and ice lollies surrounding the window. The queue was pretty long due to the busyness of the beach, and you tentatively joined the back of it alongside Nott. Someone jostled into you as they crossed through the queue to get to the other side, which sent a lightning bolt of panic up your spine. With Nott being the only remotely familiar person around, your body instinctively moved closer to his in search of safety.
He didn't object, but instead delicately hovered his hand over your lower back, looking around for anyone else who might push into you.
When you reached the front, Nott ordered his ice cream, and then when the ice cream woman turned to you, you didn't know what else to do except point at the frozen treat you wanted. Nott read it aloud for the ice cream woman, who then typed something into her till and read out the price. After fishing in his pockets for a few muggle coins, you watched cautiously as Nott tried to make sense of them, and after a few seconds you reached into his hand and collected the right amount, before handing them to the woman.
Once your ice creams were handed to you, the two of you began walking back to the parasol in silence. It was then you realised that Nott had just paid for your ice cream, and you quickly rushed to say, "I'll pay you back."
His eyes snapped to you, making you register the fact that it was his first time hearing your voice - a privilege exclusive to very few.
"You-" he stuttered, "I-" he clearly decided not to say whatever his first thought was, and instead chose to say, "Don't pay me back."
"But-"
"Nott! Y/N!" Daphne interrupted you, as you had just reached the parasol, "You got ice cream without us?"
Nott shrugged, as he seemed to do a lot.
"Anyway, we were gonna go get some surfboards and try out the waves further down the beach," she said, "I assume neither of you are interested, but you're both still absolutely welcome."
You shook your head at her.
"Anyway, we're gonna move the stuff down with us, so you'll still have to come with if you want shelter."
When you were settled back under the parasol, this time further along the coast, and the others were trying (and failing) to catch waves, you decided it was time to pull out the book you had brought. You arranged some of the bags as pillows and curled up against them with the book securely in your hold. Nott added more to the bag-pillow situation to allow enough space for him to use them as well from a comfortable distance - and you glanced up from your book to watch as he closed his eyes.
He must have felt your eyes on him, because he opened them again and turned his head to look at you, which made you use your book to cover your face. You could've sworn he smirked a little, before closing his eyes again - this time, he appeared to doze off.
You don't know how long you both remained like that, but you had never felt so comfortable and safe in your entire life.
***
It wasn't until the sun began setting did the others finally call it quits from the beach, and begin heading elsewhere. Daphne seemed to be pretty pleased with the tan she achieved from sunbathing, and was admiring her more golden skin as everyone walked. Bullstrode then suggested going to a restaurant - since it was too late to cook - and the others quickly voiced their agreement to the idea. You would have preferred to head back to the beach house, but you didn't want to do that alone since it was getting dark, so you sucked it up and joined them.
It was a classic beach restaurant that they chose: full of seafood delicacies. Everyone grabbed drinks from the bar before heading to a free table, and Daphne was kind enough to order yours for you. After taking a seat, she rushed to take one of the places beside you, which you were thankful for - she had always been a good friend. You were even more thankful when Nott sat on your other side, as you were more comfortable with him than most the others.
You scanned the menu for several moments before making a decision: you were a picky eater, which made it easier to narrow down the options.
"Good evening, folks, how can I help you all?" a waitress approached the table, her strong valley girl American accent immediately catching your attention.
"What are you having?" Nott asked while the others gave their orders.
You pointed at your choice, and watched in surprise as he ordered both for himself and for you when his turn came. Upon observing the reactions of the rest of the table, you realised they were surprised too - especially Daphne. You didn't like all eyes being trained in your direction, and stared at your lap out of embarrassment.
Eventually, conversation on the table continued while you waited for the food to come. You had no idea what to do with yourself while you waited, finding yourself staring at the bags you had all brought from the beach that were settled by the table.
Upon allowing yourself a glance at Nott, you saw that he too was staring at a random spot, and it was at that moment you felt a strange sense of solidarity with him. For the first time in your life, you felt an overwhelming desire to talk to someone and get to know them, regardless of the consequences.
If only your anxiety allowed you to do that.
***
The following day, it quickly became evident that there would be no event of the day, and that most people would be lounging around the beach house. You knew the solitude in the place wouldn't last forever, but were still disappointed when you came down for breakfast to find the kitchen diner occupied by a couple others. However, your heart flipped when you saw that Nott was one of them: he was sat at the breakfast bar with a bowl of cereal and a book.
Your entrance caused him to look up, and for the briefest of moments, your eyes locked with each other and your heart flipped a second time. Rowena, what was wrong with you?
Discreetly, you ventured over to the fridge to see what surprises it held in store for you, and were delighted to see a brand new pot of yoghurt. You prepared it in a bowl and poured honey over the top, before grabbing a spoon and settling down at the breakfast bar - in the spot right next to Nott, since most of the bar was covered in letters and random possessions and therefore uninhabitable.
It was strange that you didn't feel scared to be so close to him.
After breakfast, you hid yourself back in your and Daphne's room with your book, finding yourself quickly lost in the fantasy world. You went back out a few times for food and drinks, but didn't properly put down the book until music started playing loudly downstairs. Curious, you decided to investigate, and found everyone dancing and drinking alcohol.
"My mum started collecting muggle CDs a while back," you heard Daphne explain to Zabini and Parkinson while you lingered in the doorway, "My dad always claimed to be against it, but he got her this muggle CD player thingy for her birthday."
"What's a CD?" Parkinson asked, which made you chuckle to yourself.
That was when you spotted Nott stood outside on the decking - alone - with the sliding doors shut behind him. You frowned, and found that your body was pushing you in his direction without consulting your brain. On the way, you grabbed a cider from the twelve-pack on the sideboard, and cracked it open before opening the glass door.
You shut it behind you, marvelling in how the sound of music instantly quietened, and approached Nott. The beach house was situated on a hill, meaning the decking doubled as a balcony of sorts on one side of it, and that was where he was: resting his arms on the rail.
He was evidently surprised to see that it was you.
"I thought you were Mattheo," he said blankly, like a filler statement.
"Sorry to disappoint," you said under your breath, but it wouldn't have been difficult for him to hear.
He glanced at you with a small frown, and you realised that he must be at least tipsy with how expressive he was being.
"I'm not disappointed," he finally said, staring at the view of the sea and lit-up beach houses in the dark.
You took a sip of the cider before resting your arms on the railing a short distance from him, gazing at the admittedly gorgeous view in all its tranquility.
"I was surprised you came on this trip," he broke the silence with a softened tone.
"Wasn't everyone?" you replied, treasuring how easily the words were leaving your mouth.
He hummed.
"I'm surprised you came," you said, which made him look at you.
"Why?"
"Well, not before the trip, but now I know more about you, I'm surprised you came. Beach trips don't seem like your cup of tea."
You felt small with how he stared at you then, beginning to regret saying the longest sentence you had said since you were a young child. The negative thoughts disappeared when Nott spoke again.
"Anything to get away from home." He said it under his breath, as if there was a serious meaning behind it, which you highly suspected there was. "What about you?"
"Hm?"
"You," he repeated, "Beach trips don't seem like your cup of tea either."
You took another sip of the cider. "Same reason as you."
Just as he opened his mouth to reply, the sliding door opened and the volume of the music increased tenfold. Riddle, evidently under the influence, walked through the door with the biggest grin on his face.
"Theo, my man, what are you doing out here?" he then looked at you, "Ooh, sorry, have I interrupted something?"
"Go back inside, Matt," Nott sighed, "You're very drunk."
He shook his head, and threw an arm over your shoulder clumsily, which caused frozen fear to ripple through your veins. "How are you this fine evening, Y/N?"
It was easy to get out of his hold while he wasn't sober, and you quickly bolted inside and all the way through to the stairs, having dropped your cider on the outside decking. Nott stared at the golden liquid leaking on to the wooden floor, before looking up at Riddle exasperatedly. The latter's face was guilt-ridden, but the former didn't care in the slightest.
"What the fuck, mate?" Nott spat, before running inside after you.
Daphne had seen you hurry past, and was just on her way to check on you when she saw that she had been beaten to the punch. All she could do was watch, mesmerised, as the person she was least close to out of everyone there (and not out of lack of trying on her behalf) appeared desperate to make sure you were okay.
Upstairs, you sat curled up by the foot of your bed, rocking back and forth as tears threatened to spill out. Their threats weren't empty, and your cheeks were soon dampened and flushed.
A knock sounded on the door, but you ignored it.
"Y/N?" it was Nott- Theo.
After you didn't reply, you watched as he gently pushed the door open and peered in, quickly spotting you. Silently, he walked over to you and sat down, not right next to you, but pretty close by. You flinched at the proximity.
"I won't hurt you," he said softly, "I couldn't."
You glanced at him unsurely.
"I could never hurt anyone, I don't think. I know too much of what it's like to be hurt for no reason."
You sniffed, shifting over to Theo slightly, as you understood what he was implying and it made you more inclined to trust him.
"Who?" you asked quietly.
"My dad," he said, his voice turned hollow, "He's a fan of the Cruciatus Curse."
Your eyes widened - your body was moving to embrace his before you could stop it. Theo stiffened when you first wrapped your arms around his torso, but he soon relaxed and returned it.
You felt droplets begin to dampen the top of your head, making it apparent to you that Theo had started crying as well. Neither of you commented on it, and instead remained curled up on the floor of the bedroom in wordless tranquility for Merlin knows how long.
***
It was a cold sweat that you woke up in, before the sun was even threatening to rise. Your chest was tight and your breathing was uneven, but you were relieved to be awake. You looked over at Daphne, who was sound asleep in her twin bed, and let out a massive breath. It had been a while since you'd had a nightmare like that.
Thirsty. You were thirsty. You needed water.
Quietly, but shakily, you crept out of bed and across to the door, wincing when the dim hallway light blinded you. You stumbled over to the bathroom door, only to find that it was locked.
It opened moments after you had tried the handle.
"Y/N?" Millicent.
You blinked at her a couple times.
"Is... is Daphne in there alone?" she gestured to your bedroom.
You nodded, confused.
"Do you think she'd want to see me?"
It finally registered what Millicent was insinuating, and you nodded thoughtlessly, waving her in the direction of Daphne. She thanked you, and as you shoved your head under the bathroom tap, you realised that the prior interaction likely meant you were out of a place to sleep for the night: which was especially unideal due to you still being shaken from the nightmare.
When you left the bathroom, you decided to go downstairs and potentially crash on one of the sofas, but soon discovered that Mattheo was passed out on one of them. Evidently, he had been too drunk to even make it up the stairs.
It also meant that Theo was alone in his room.
Maybe you were still out of it from the nightmare, or maybe you didn't feel close enough to Mattheo to crash on the other sofa next to him and decided Theo was the better option - maybe it was both. Either way, you found yourself stumbling back up the stairs and across the hall to the room you knew to be Theo's.
You didn't knock, you just opened the door. It was when the door shut behind you that you came to your senses, but it was too late - Theo had woken up.
"Y/N?" he said quietly, in a raspy deep voice.
"Hi," you mumbled, tucking your arms behind you awkwardly.
"You okay?" he sat up straight, more alert than moments before, with his eyebrows furrowed.
You didn't know what to say in response.
He got out of bed and walked over to you, trying to analyse your face in the darkened room. All you could do was gaze up at him; as you stared into his shadowed eyes, your mind went blank of any prior concern. Once he had deduced that you weren't crying, he asked, "What are you doing here?" It wasn't a confrontational or rude question, just a curious and confused one.
"I-" you paused, not knowing what to say, "Bullstrode- Millicent- went in with Daphne."
"Oh."
"I- I should-"
"You need a place to sleep then?"
Ashamedly, you nodded, feeling blood rush to your ears.
"Okay," he said simply, walking back over to the double bed he had been sharing with Mattheo the last few days.
You stared at his silhouette as he got back under the covers.
"Getting in or not?" he said, his voice muffled from his head being buried in the pillows.
Just like that, your body snapped to life and you hurried to the other side of the bed, slipping under the covers and appreciating the warmth they had to offer. For a few moments, you lay in silence, but you could tell that Theo was still awake from his breathing pattern.
"I had a nightmare," you said under your breath, hoping you wouldn't have to repeat yourself.
Theo turned over to face you. "You want to talk about it?"
You shook your head.
"Okay."
Then you asked him a question, but you were nervous to ask it, so muffled your words with the pillow.
"Hm? I didn't catch that."
You repeated it, still talking into the pillow.
"Still didn't get that," he said tiredly, his eyes closed.
"Canwecuddle?" you said as quickly as you could to make up for the lack of self-protective muffling.
You expected more of a reaction from Theo, but he simply hummed and extended an arm towards you. For a few seconds, you stared at it, but eventually rolled on to the limb, to then be pulled into his body pretty tightly. Touch had always scared you - no, petrified you - but, as you rested in Theo's warmth, all you could feel was safe.
***
Day six was the last full day in the beach house, and you were sad to have to think about heading back home. Still, you were hiding from everyone - you and Theo sleeping in the same bed had been the hottest topic of the group ever since a hungover Mattheo stumbled back into his bedroom in the morning to get a change of clothes.
With you staying in the shadows, nothing more happened between you and Theo that day, apart from sitting beside each other during meals.
Day seven - the day of departure - was a depressing day for you. You stood in the living room with your packed bags, watching as everyone hugged each other and stepped into the fireplace. Daphne would obviously be the last to leave, and as you stood in front of her to say your goodbyes, she offered you a fist bump. At that, you couldn't help but smile, and connected your fist with hers.
"Bye, Nott," she said, looking past your shoulder to the boy, who was the last of the others left.
After he didn't provide a verbal reply, you turned to look at him, and just the sight of him made your smile stretch even wider. In the corner of your eye, you watched Daphne grin and slip out of the room.
"I'll see you back at school, yeah?" he said.
You nodded enthusiastically. "Of course."
There was an awkward silence for a few seconds, but then he leaned down to quickly peck your lips. "Don't feel shy about coming up to me."
Not even the most powerful erasing spell could get the grin off your face, and as you watched Theo step into the fireplace with a handful of floo powder, you found your fingers delicately brushing over the skin of your now-tingling lips.
***
Like usual, you arrived at Platform Nine and Three Quarters alone, which was better than the alternative. You scanned the crowd for the one person that you desperately wanted to see above all else, but had no luck. When the conductor began beckoning students on to the train, you sighed and started pulling your trunk behind you as you made your way to the shiny red transport. It didn't take long to get your trunk sorted away and find yourself an empty compartment, due to you being one of the few students that didn't spend the last few moments saying goodbye to loved ones.
Despite Theo's last words to you, you were beginning to feel anxious that he wouldn't want to see you - scrap that, you had been feeling anxious all summer about it. You hadn't seen or heard from him since the trip.
And then, out of nowhere, your compartment door slid open and in came Mattheo, Theo and Daphne - in that order. They all greeted you, with Theo in particular sitting by your side. You couldn't take your eyes off him, and were struggling to suppress the smile that wanted to break out: he could likely see the way the corners of your mouth twitched.
He didn't say anything to you, but instead slipped his hand into yours. It was only then you realised that he was shaking and immediately grew worried. The look in your eyes silently asked the obvious question.
Theo shook his head. "Later."
You nodded, squeezing his hand tightly and moving into his side.
***
Rumour had it that potions was significantly better now that Snape had been replaced by Slughorn - although, as a result, defence against the dark arts had gotten significantly worse. The inconsistency of DADA professors had always been a massive stressor for you at the beginning of new years, wondering whether you would be taught by someone who was understanding of your needs or not.
Though, your main focus at the beginning of sixth year was everything that Theo had to tell you about the remainder of his summer holidays.
You had already guessed most of it before you had a chance to talk in private: his father had been particularly abusive after the beach trip, as he was prone to be whenever he was about to not have Theo as a punching bag for a long period of time. Apparently, it was even worse than past summer holidays, due to the stress Nott Sr was under as a death eater.
Thus, your mind had been too absent to properly acknowledge the fact that Snape was the second worst DADA professor that you had ever had - second only to Umbridge. You had hoped that last year's bad luck in the professor department had meant you would have some more luck this year - it hadn't. Plus, after dropping potions, you had assumed that Snape would never teach you again.
"Miss L/N," Snape drawled, snapping you out of your thoughts, "I asked you a question."
You stared at him blankly.
"Surely, as a Ravenclaw witch, you would be capable of developing some other means of communication if unable to talk."
The panic lit aflame in your core: it then felt as if the walls around you were closing in, and as if every pair of beady fellow student eyes were pinned on you like hawks.
Your heartbeat quickened.
Your temperature spiked.
Your eyes watered.
And then, your fight or flight response kicked in - yours being almost always the latter. You were out of your seat and darting out the room faster than a golden snitch, running down the corridors with blurred vision. You only stopped running when you rounded the corner and almost ran into McGonagall. She appeared about to scold you for sprinting in the corridors, but then noticed your state, and hurried to move you into an empty nearby classroom.
"There you go, sit down," she pulled out a chair for you, which you practically collapsed into, sobs scraping out of your throat. "Whatever happened, Miss L/N?"
All you could do was look up at her silhouette through your teary eyes.
"Did you come from a lesson?"
You nodded.
Realisation dawned on the Gryffindor head's face. "Professor Snape's lesson, by any chance?"
Again, you nodded, still choking through sobs.
You watched as McGonagall grew pensive and stood back, her posture alarmingly straight.
"Th- Theo," you stuttered out.
"Theo? Theodore Nott?" You could tell McGonagall was marvelled at hearing you speak - even if it was just one word.
Another nod from you.
"Did he upset you?"
You frowned, shaking your head hurriedly.
"Would you... like me to fetch him?"
Your reaction told her the answer, and she swiftly exited the room, to return several minutes later with the boy you so desperately desired comfort from - with worry ridden on his face. The second he was fully in the classroom, you barrelled forward into his chest, only faintly hearing the door shut as McGonagall slipped back out.
"I'm here now, darling," he murmured, holding you tightly, "I'm here."
"Why?" you cried, muffled by his jumper, "Why do I overreact so much?"
"Because you've been taught that you aren't safe," he said gently, "As have I."
You hugged him even harder.
***
-THREE YEARS LATER-
***
"I'm home," Theo's voice echoed throughout the house.
You immediately shot up from your seat and ran to the entrance lobby, where your handsome husband was taking his shoes off.
"Someone's excited to see me."
"Shut up," you mumbled, moving into his embrace nonetheless, "I've had a long boring day of painting walls."
"You've been decorating without me?"
"Just the guest rooms," you waved your hand dismissively after parting from his hold.
"Surely it can't have taken long with magic."
"Maybe if we'd gotten a smaller house."
Theo smiled sheepishly, "My family's money was gonna sit in that vault forever if we didn't use it."
Ever since Nott Sr had been sent to Azkaban for life, the Nott manor and contents of the Nott vault had been left to his only child: Theo. Due to Theo's dark memories of his childhood house, he sold it, and together you spent a couple years searching for a new place to call home.
"We hardly used any of the money from the vault for this place," you rebuked, "We bought this with the money from the old house."
"Ah, fair point," he kissed you delicately on the lips.
"D'you think it's too big?"
"Who cares? As long as it's a fresh start for the both of us."
You couldn't believe it had only been two years since Voldemort's demise, and three since you began a relationship with Theo. Perhaps his proposal right after the Battle of Hogwarts had been too soon, but you knew that there was no one else you could ever feel the same way about. Theo was the closest thing to family you had ever had, and marrying him made him that official - you had been nothing but elated when he asked you.
It had been a small ceremony, of course, with only very close friends.
"I can't wait to finally live in a house full of love, darling, especially as it's with you," Theo placed a kiss on your forehead, making you shove him gently in his chest.
"That's called a home, my love," you smiled back at him.