My Darling | Theodore Nott

Year Five (I)

Maddie cut her hair in fifth year. It was short, not even brushing her shoulders. She had cut it, and now Theo knew there was a small birthmark almost shaped like a heart on her neck.

"Nott?" Said Maddie, looking at him confused. 

Theo cleared his throat and looked away. 

"You cut your hair." Observed Theo, standing next to her in care of magical creatures.

She had sent him two letters during the summer. One on a book she thought he would like and the other on how stupid she found the summer reading. 

"Yeah," said Maddie, "Got to hate it long."

"It suits you." He said. Maddie smiled. Her hair had a gentle curl to it. Framed her face rather perfectly. 

"Thanks, Nott." Said Maddie. 

A fire crab went off and Maddie flinched as Hagrid explained what was going to happen, Theo glanced at her and took a half step closer. 

"Did you have a good summer?" She asked, he hadn't returned any of her owls. She'd only sent two because when she'd tried for three her brother had tackled her and told her it was depressing if he wasn't responding.

"It was Fine." He lied, "Yours?"

Maddie wrinkled her nose and glanced away,

"Long. It was a very long summer," she replied, as a firecrab was set in front of them, "Were you listening to the instructions?" She whispered, and Theo nodded, "I would have too, but you are incredibly distracting."

Theo handed her gloves, he had gotten an extra pair for her at the beginning of class. 

"You got taller." She said, glancing up at him, as they attempted to befriend the firecrab, "really adds to your whole daunting thing," she said, and then the firecrab looked up at her, "Come here, baby," She whispered to it, crouching to the ground and the firecrab scuttled towards her, "Hungry?"

The crab accepted the food.

"Daunting?" Said Theo, unbuttoning and rebuttoning the cuff of his sleeve. Maddie set up the food for the firecrab into a smiley face. She was wearing two layered necklaces. 

"Confident you know, cool." Said Maddie. "Unlike this firecrab, cause, uh, you know. Fire. Hot. Not that you aren't hot or anything, just you know daunting equals good thing, like world peace, Mexicana singer Selena, human rights, and, and, you. You are excellent as a person." She rambled as the firecrab rolled onto its back and she scratched its tummy like it was a puppy. "Did you make prefect?"

"No." Said Theo, Draco had. "You?"

"No. I am trouble maker, look out." She said and then she blew a raspberry and looked up at him. "I liberate one Iguana, one time. And they never let me forget it."

Theo nearly smiled. 

Maddie removed her cloak and set it on the ground before sitting down and inviting the firecrab into her lap. The firecrab rested its head on her knee as she stroked its shell gently. 

"What were meant to be doing?" She asked, Theo looked to the other groups, trying to get their crabs to take the food.

He sat on Maddie's cloak and set the worksheet before him. 

"How many legs does it have?"

"Do the pincer things count?" Asked Maddie. 

"Yes."

"Ten."

Theo filled out the rest of the worksheet slowly. Maddie was very easy to work with. He finished the sheet.