Rewind - 1994
"I didn't mean it like that, Lia, you know that," Theo sighed. Him and Thalia were laying on his bed and Theo just confessed his feelings for Thalia.
"No, it's fine, really. I don't think we have to talk about it again," Thalia shrugged, pretending not to care. Inside, she was a bit offended that Theo would want to forget this entire conversation when they clearly had the same feelings. "Do you wanna go down to the Great Hall now?"
"Yeah," the blonde agreed. Thalia grabbed Theo's hand and Theo's hand felt like it was burning up when it touched Thalia's. He felt his hand become sweaty and he didn't want to embarrass himself so he just pulled his hand away.
Thalia stared at him strangely but didn't pry as the two began to walk down to the Great Hall for dinner. When they reached the Slytherin table and sat down next to each other, Thalia was still staring at him.
Theo liked it when she stared at him but he felt uncomfortable when they made eye contact because Thalia never flinched or squirmed, or bothered to look away. She stared back with the same expression, not flustered in the slightest.
Theodore Nott feared what Thalia was capable of but at the same time, he wanted to find out. He wanted to be the one who got to kiss her and hold her and he wanted to be the one who got to tell her he loved her.
He noticed how Thalia used to stare back at him but as the months started to advance, she started to look away. Not because she was scared or nervous, but because she was looking at someone else.
The blonde found himself frowning as Thalia's attention drifted toward the Gryffindor table. It took him a while to pin which person was taking her attention away from him.
Theo's friends didn't pay any mind to him as he glared at the Gryffindor table. His hateful gaze was set upon the one and only Harry Potter.
How could Thalia possibly fancy him? Are they having an affair? What would Draco think if he found out? Was Harry better than me? How come she stopped liking me and now she fancies 'the Chosen One'? So many thoughts ran through Theo's mind as he watched Thalia and Harry over the months.
For so long, the relationship was one sided and it was so obvious that Harry fancied Thalia. Her friends would taunt him for it, Theo especially. And now, the relationship wasn't just one sided. Now, Theo's relationship with Thalia was one sided.
Theo didn't know why he didn't confront Thalia about it or even try to talk to her about it. He laid awake at night and just wondered if he was hallucinating or if his mind was perfectly fine.
And every night, he would convince himself that it was a hallucination and Thalia still fancied him instead of bloody Harry Potter. And every morning, when he sat in the Great Hall, he hallucinated again.
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Present day
Theo sat in the Great Hall once again, gritting his teeth and glaring at the idiot Gryffindor, Harry Potter. His dark eyes followed the Gryffindor as Harry exited the Great Hall. "I just remembered that I left my Potions textbook in my dorm," Thalia announced. "I'll meet you guys in first period."
Blaise, Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle all nodded, not really caring about Thalia's forgetfulness. For the past few weeks, she'd been forgetting a lot of things and the group didn't pay any attention to that anymore.
"I'l go with you, Lia," Theo offered. He had his suspicions and they were confirmed when Thalia's face fell. His heart felt like it was aching when Thalia wasn't as excited to be alone with him as she used to.
"Oh," Thalia replied. "It's fine, Theo. You can finish your breakfast and I'll-"
"It's fine," Theo insisted, cutting her off. "I left a letter for my father in my dorm and I wanted to mail it out during free period." He put his fork down and stood, hopping over the bench. "Come on then, Lia. We don't have all day."
Theo knew he should've exposed Thalia right there and then but he chose not to. He wanted to confront her privately, and he wanted answers. Reluctantly, Thalia followed Theo out of the Great Hall and they walked side by side.
"Have you thought about next year?" Theo asked. "We've got our O.W.L.s."
"Uh, yeah," Thalia responded. She didn't look directly at him and her eyes lingered on the open doorway of an empty classroom where she knew Harry would be waiting. "It's going to be stressful."
"Yeah," Theo agreed. Thalia stopped walking suddenly and she opened her shoulder bag and pulled out her Potions textbook.
"Oh silly me," Thalia fake laughed. "I totally packed it and forgot." She put her textbook back into her bag and smiled at Theo. "I'm going to go back to the Great Hall but you can go ahead to your dorm-"
"I can walk back with you," the blonde cut in. Thalia tilted her head to the side a bit and she awkwardly scratched the back of her neck. "Can I tell you a secret, Lia?"
"Y-yeah, of course," Thalia nodded. "I wouldn't tell anyone."
"I didn't actually have a letter in my dorm," Theo chuckled. "I just wanted to walk with you."
Thalia knew that Harry was hearing their entire conversation but Theo also knew, he just didn't say anything. Theo moved a bit closer to Thalia and looked down at her. "You'd tell me if you had a secret. Right?" Theo asked quietly.
"Yeah," the brunette responded casually.
"Especially a big secret, right?" Theo asked. Thalia nodded her head and Theo's eyes narrowed, not believing her in the slightest. He didn't like how Thalia lied to him. Thalia's never lied to him before, and they were always such good friends, even when they were younger.
"Good," he remarked, "because it would be a shame if you had a... dirty secret and it got out. A secret like that could make your friendships, your connections, and your family all disappear..." Theo held his hand up and snapped his fingers, causing to Thalia to flinch at the unexpected sound. "Like that."
Theo didn't know why he was acting like this and he would normally say it was jealousy, but jealousy would force him to take it out on Harry, not Thalia. No, Theo wasn't jealous. He was angry and confused, and he didn't understand what had happened.
Everything was so perfect but Theo was scared. He wasn't a Gryffindor. He wouldn't confront Draco about his feelings for Thalia and he let her slip out of his hands without even knowing. And he hated the person that he lost her to was Harry fuckin Potter.
"What're you saying, Theo?" Thalia asked. She didn't like what he was implying and she thought that he could know about her and Harry but she shook the thought away. Theo would probably be the last person to figure out.
"Lia, I know we've been friends since we were eight," Theo whispered, so Harry couldn't hear, "but I'd set my priorities straight if I were you. There is no place for love in our world."
Our world. Thalia knew what he was referring to. The pureblooded rich Slytherins, the pretty girls who grew up for the sole purpose of continuing the bloodline and the handsome boys who always ended up working for the Ministry.
Thalia dreaded that world. There were no choices for her besides the one set for her because her grades could get her a much better occupation than a housewife.
Theo, on the other hand, loved their world. He liked having the set path and he liked the boring job at the Ministry that would be provided for him. He liked not having to worry about marriage when his parents would be setting him up with someone pure and worthy. It was easy.
"I want to leave that world," Thalia confessed.
"Why would anyone want to leave that world?" Theo scoffed. He didn't even give Thalia a chance to explain herself as he continued. "If you leave that world, you're as good as dead. You'll step foot into the real world where you have to care about showing up to class on time and working for your title. And for what? Someone that wasn't allowed into our world?"
Thalia remained silent and Theo put on a fake smile for the girl he fancied. He was true to his word when he said a part of him would always fancy Thalia, but this was not the Thalia he knew.
He raised his voice again and took a step back from her. "I'll see you in class, Lia."
Theo walked off, in the direction of the Great Hall, and Thalia watched his figure get smaller by the second.