"What's got you so giddy?" Blaise asked. He must've noticed Theo's good mood. Well, it wasn't like he was hiding it. He's been smiling all day, skipping around, humming cheerfully, and he greeted everyone he saw. Politely. That was quite rare for him.
Theo sat beside Blaise. "I think she's the most beautiful creature I have ever set my eyes on," he gushed. Theo looked up at the ceiling of the Slytherin common room, thinking about her.
"Your Rory, huh?" Blaise teased, nudging his shoulder. "Put a label on it, Nott."
He turned to Blaise. "A label?"
"Yeah," Blaise explained, "Like boyfriend and girlfriend type stuff."
"Does she not know that already?"
"Did you clarify it?"
Theo's eyes widened. "No." He turned pale, as if he has just seen a ghost. "No, I did not clarify it."
"You might want to," Blaise suggested. "Or else, Ron Weasley might come crawling back, you never know."
"Really?" he asked, an eyebrow raised.
"Yeah," Blaise shrugged, "If you don't settle it."
Draco Malfoy suddenly barged in. He had a grin on his face and sat between Theo and Blaise, slinging his arms around them.
"Hey!" he greeted. "How's my favorite–"
"I can't right now, D," said Theo, getting up and running out of the common room. "See you later."
rory <3
t <3: where are youu???
rory <3: at the library
rory <3: why?
t <3: no reason
He smiled to himself as he put his phone in his pocket. Theo was always excited to see Aurora, but today was different. His heart was pounding as he made his way to the library.
He was rarely here, so he didn't wonder why the kids at the library were surprised to see him, eyeing him curiously. He did not mean to boast, but Theo was pretty well known at school. Mostly for his looks.
There were some 5th and 6th years who came up to him, grinning widely, tucking locks of their hair behind their ears.
A girl greeted him cheerfully. "Theodore Nott?"
He was polite, so he smiled, and nodded. "Yes?"
The girl giggled. "What are you doing here?"
Theo looked around the library, trying to find his Rory, but he couldn't seem to spot her anywhere.
"So?" the girl asked again when he gave no reply. He remembered that Aurora asked him to keep them a secret, and he honoured her request. If it were up to him, he'd tell her he was here to see his girlfriend. Super sweet, kind, beautiful, perfect girlfriend.
"I'm here to read," Theo lied. "Can't I read here?"
The girl blushed, looking embarrassed. "Of course!" she replied. "Silly me, do you need me to help you with anything? I'm quite familiar with the library."
"I'm good," he declined. "Thanks though." He tapped her shoulder as he walked away. He heard her squeal with her friends and smirked to himself. Aurora had what those girls wanted so bad, yet she wanted no one to know.
He searched every corner of the library, and it was minutes after that he finally found her. She was sitting alone, reading. It was a very secluded area, lucky for him.
He sat beside her and kissed her cheek. She flinched, pulled her wand and pointed it at him. Theo laughed at her face when she realized it was just him, and put the wand away.
"You can't do that," she complained, her hand on her chest.
"Aren't you happy to see me?" he teased. Theo placed his finger on her chin. "Do I get a kiss?"
Aurora smiled but rolled her eyes anyway. "Not after that," she said. "What are you doing here?"
He gasped dramatically, pretending to be offended. "Why does everyone ask me that? Am I not allowed in here?"
"People like you and Draco don't come in here very often." She tapped his nose with her pen. "Blaise sometimes does. But other than that, we never see you cool Slytherins."
"Aw," Theo smiled. "You think I'm cool."
Aurora chuckled and shifted her gaze back to her book. Theo scooted closer to her and brushed her cheek with his thumb. "I need to talk to you," he said.
She looked at him again. "Did something happen?"
He laughed. "No! Why do you always assume that with me?"
"Because you're you," she said. "Under different circumstances, you and my brother would be best friends."
"So, Rory." His tone changed. He sounded serious. Aurora furrowed her eyebrows as he took her hands.
"Are you okay?" she asked, her eyes showing concern.
"Of course, baby, I'm fine," he reassured her. "I just have this one thing I want to talk about with you."
"What is it?" Her tone sounded urgent. Curious.
"We've been going out for some time now, and I've loved every single moment I've spent with you—"
"Oh my God," Aurora gasped. She snatched her hands away from his. "Are you saying you don't want to see me anymore?"
Theo shook his head. "No, God, no! Could you please listen first before you jump to conclusions?"
Aurora inhaled sharply. "Okay."
Theo took her hands again and kissed them gently. "Listen, okay?"
She nodded.
"I was just wondering.." He didn't expect to be this nervous. He couldn't even look at her eyes. His view was glued to her hands as he fiddled with her fingers. "If you wanted to be.."
He looked at her briefly. She was raising his eyebrows, anticipating his next word.
"Girlfriend," he finally managed. "We haven't labelled our relationship as anything, but I'd love to be your boyfriend."
Aurora laughed. She held her stomach and placed her head on his shoulder. She kept laughing, it went on for a few more seconds. Theo wasn't sure if he should be happy, offended, or upset. He looked at her in confusion, then tapped her head.
"What?" he asked. "Why are you laughing?"
She looked at him, their faces only inches apart. She kissed his nose, still had the sweetest smile Theo has ever seen painted on her lips.
"You're so cute," she chuckled.
The butterflies in his stomach were uncontrollable. He turned red, his mouth forming a grin. "Okay? That doesn't explain the laughing, Aurora Potter."
"I found it funny that you were so nervous just to ask that," she said, wrapping his curls in her fingers. "Of course, I want to be your girlfriend, was it not obvious?"
He tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear and pressed his forehead against hers gently. He had his hand on her cheek, he could feel her breathing, he could feel her smiling, even when his eyes were shut. Theo closed the gap between them, touching her lips with his.
His phone rang. He knew that, but he ignored it. He was hoping Aurora would to. But she pulled away.
"Aren't you going to answer that?" she asked. "Could be important."
Theo huffed, throwing his back. "Right now?" he complained.
Aurora looked at his phone. "It's Blaise."
He didn't really want to pick up. How could Blaise interrupt his moment when he told him he was going to find Aurora? But she grabbed his phone and handed it to him. He had no choice but to take the call.
He grumbled. "Hello?"
Blaise sounded panicked and out of breath from the other line. "Theo! What the fuck took you so long to pick up?"
Theo grew worried. "What's up, man? What's wrong?"
Sensing the concern in his voice, Aurora placed her hand on his arm and gave him a questioning look. Theo only shrugged in response.
"Draco's fucking fighting with Potter again," Blaise told him. "It's getting pretty bad."
"Physically?" he asked.
"Yes! Yes, fucking physically," Blaise exclaimed. "Some spells too. Get your ass to the dungeons! Bring Aurora with you."
"Blaise, I—" he was about to say he couldn't possibly be seen together with Aurora, but Blaise had already hung up.
"What's wrong?" Aurora asked, her hand still gripping Theo's arm.
"Your brother and Draco," Theo sighed. "They got into a fight. Again."
Aurora's eyes widened. "What?" she shouted, but looked around and realized she was in the library. Her hand flew to her mouth. "Where?" she asked, more quietly this time.
"The dungeons," Theo replied, whispering too.
"Okay," she said. "You go out, quietly, like nothing ever happened here. And once you're out, I'll wait a minute or two, and I'll catch up with you. Sounds good?"
Theo wanted to hold her hand and walk out together. But he knew that wasn't possible. So he forced a smile, and nodded. "Yeah."
Aurora told him to go, and he stood. Theo began heading towards the door, but when he was halfway there, he turned, and walked back to her.
Her eyebrows shot up when she saw him. "Did you forget something?" she asked.
"Yeah," he said. Theo leaned down and took ahold of her chin. Then he kissed her. Only for a quick moment.
When he pulled away, she told him that he was adorable, but urged him to go and said that they were in a hurry.
The butterflies again.
The people in the library must've thought he was crazy, skipping around with a grin. But Theo did not care. He just lived out a scene from a romance novel they were reading.
rory <3
t <3 : i'm outside
rory <3: i'll just meet you down at the dungeons
rory <3: dont wait for me
t <3: u sure?
rory <3: yeah
rory <3: otherwise people would start
getting suspicious
rory <3: go theo
t <3: alright i'll see you there
Again, he was a bit upset but he didn't let that bother him. He rushed down to the dungeons, and found Potter and Draco still going at it, with Blaise and Ron Weasley trying to come in between them.
Ron Weasley.
Something triggered in Theo whenever he saw Ron Weasley. Insecurity? Jealousy? He couldn't put his finger on it. Maybe he was jealous because he was so visible with Aurora. He didn't have to hide her, and she didn't have to hide him. One thing was clear. He did not like him.
Maybe he was scared that one day Aurora would run back to him, especially when they were still friends who talked everyday. But he couldn't pick and choose who his girlfriend could be friends with. He knew that was cruel and unfair.
He just had to trust her. And Aurora was the most trust worthy person he knew.
"Draco!" he yelled. "Stop it, man!" He tried to help Ron and Blaise by taking holding Draco back, but it was surprisingly difficult.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Theo scolded. But Draco paid no mind to his presence.
"Mr. Malfoy! Mr. Potter!" Suddenly, they heard McGonagall's voice. The two of them obliged instantly.
Amongst the crowd, he saw her. His Rory. He was sure she was the one who told McGonagall.
She caught his gaze. Then winked at him.
rory <3
t <3: you little snitch
rory <3: i'm an informant
t <3: a snitch
rory <3: a snitch who's also your girlfriend
t <3: a snitch who's also my girlfriend