You With the Red Curls, You with the Watercolor Eyes

Chapter 16~Theodore

I pull her off to a corner when no one is looking. "Having fun?" I ask breathlessly.

"Yes," she pants. "I need another drink."

I nod, and we go sit at the bar on the back wall. I order something, and we share my cup. She leaves little lipstick prints from her mouth on the glass. 

"Let's go somewhere quiet," I say. She follows me out of the room and down the hall. I pause in front of a suit of armor and lean against the wall. "So, best party you've ever been to, or what?"

"I must say, you guys know how to party," she shrugs. "Drinks are a little bland though."

"Really? The French got something stronger? Most guys can't stomach one or two from the bar before they pass out or throw up," I laugh.

"You can hold your liquor though, huh?" She says.

I grin. "Yeah. You too. What have you had, three drinks?"

"Four," she corrects.

"Not even a little dizzy? Merlin, you are wild!" I laugh.

She smiles, "Oh, I'll feel it tomorrow. My hangovers always last days."

"Mhm. Maybe I could help that headache?" I say, raising my eyebrows.

She blushes. "What do you have in mind? Got some hangover potion?"

"I'm thinking of something a little different," I say, and step closer. She backs into the wall.

"Theo..." She says, her voice shaking a little.

I move closer, grabbing her waist and pulling her into my chest. "Yeah?"

Then a voice shouts from down the hall. "Theo? That you? Come on, the others are looking for you!" It's Enzo.

I frown. I always seem to get interrupted at the worst times. "C'mon, let's go find them," I say, pulling Della by the waist back towards the party.

"Where have you two been?" Blaise says.

"Needed some air. That's all," I say, shrugging. He raises his eyebrows.

I can feel a stare boring into the back of my head. I turn and see Mattheo glaring at me. He looks away.

We go back to dancing, passing around bottles of alcohol. Pansy and Draco end up making out in a corner. 

Blaise and Enzo find a couple of girls and dance with them. Soon it's just me and Della left from our group, wedged between the crowd of whooping people, jumping to the music.

We go to get refills. Della isn't walking straight. I have a pounding headache, but this could be my chance. I try to keep track of her, but she disappears into the crowd. 

There aren't just Slytherins here now. Word spreads fast in Hogwarts, and there are mixed colors of green, red, blue and yellow everywhere. Even though parties are no time for uniforms, mostly everyone sticks to dressing in their house colors all the time.

The Hufflepuff girl I was with on the first day finds me again, and we sneak off into the hallway, to an empty classroom. I wasn't planning on her, but I'll take what I can get. She's all over me, so I don't even care. 

I stagger back in after twenty minutes and find Blaise and Enzo and Mattheo searching for Della.

"What do you mean you can't find her?" I shout over the noise.

"Why are you mad at us? She was your date! You're supposed to keep track of her!" Mattheo yells. 

"Let's just find her!" Enzo says.

We search for ages, but no one can spot her red hair in the crowd. 

"What time is it?" I ask Blaise.

"2:48," he says.

"Merlin, where the fuck is she?" Mattheo shouts.

"Maybe she went back to the common room?" Enzo suggests.

"Worth a look," I say.

We take the fastest route back to the dungeons. The common room is empty. 

Mattheo runs towards the stairs and we follow.

He knocks on the dorm door. "Della? Are you in there?"

He presses his ear to the door. "Move," I say, shoving him to the side. I listen. 

I try the handle, but it's locked. "Alohamora," Enzo says, pointing his wand at the door. The lock clicks, and I shove open the door.

Della is laying on her bed, face buried in a pillow. Mattheo sits on the side of the bed. "Della?" He whispers, tapping her shoulder.

"Get off!" She screams. He jumps off the bed and backs up.

"Della? What's wrong? What happened?" I ask, crouching next to the bed.

"No, no, no, no, no, no," she mumbles into the pillow.

"Della?" Enzo says cautiously. "Did something happen after Theo lost track of you?"

She lifts her head from the pillow. Her pupils are dilated, and her face shines with sweat. She nods.

Mattheo shakes with fury. I can feel heat building inside my chest, too. 

Enzo's voice is low and steady, though. "Who was it?"

She hiccups and sits up, hugging her knees to her chest. "Some Gryffindor. I didn't recognize him," she whispers.

"What did he look like?" Enzo says calmly.

"Um, he was really tall. And blonde, with wavy hair. I didn't see much else, because, you know..." She trails off, tears filling her eyes. 

"Did you hear anyone talking to him?" Blaise asks.

"Someone called his name, I think. Mclaggen," she chokes.

I stand. "I'm going to kill him," I say, starting towards the door. Mattheo and Blaise follow. Enzo stays behind and sits on the bed with Della.

I am going to kill him.