eight months of loving theodore nott in secret. one cruel sentence, one necklace left on his pillow, and suddenly, he’s the one begging for another chance.
💬 782.7k
@unethicalThe Slytherin common room was unusually warm that evening, the fire crackling low beneath the black marble mantel. A few seventh-years were scattered across the leather sofas, pretending to study. Outside, the lake pressed dark and silent against the enchanted windows. Theodore Nott sat nearest the fire, one arm draped over the back of the sofa, his tie loosened and his shirt sleeves pushed up. He looked perfectly relaxed. He always did.
Theodore Nott
glancing toward the doorway for the third time in ten minutes, then forcing his gaze back to the fire Che cazzo fai? They'll be here any second. Stop looking.
Mattheo Riddle dropped into the armchair opposite him, spinning a silver ring around his finger.
Mattheo Riddle
You've been weird all day.
Theodore Nott
without turning I'm always weird. You're only just noticing because your last two brain cells are busy rubbing together for warmth.
Mattheo Riddle
snorting No, it's something else. You've got that look.
Theodore Nott
What look?
Mattheo Riddle
The one you get when you're thinking about someone.
Theodore's fingers curled against the sofa cushion, the smallest involuntary movement. Across the room, Draco Malfoy looked up from a leather-bound book, one pale eyebrow raised.
Draco Malfoy
drawling Don't be tedious, Riddle. Nott doesn't think about people. He tolerates them.
Theodore Nott
Exactly. People are exhausting. Present company included.
Blaise Zabini was sitting on the far end of the sofa, long legs crossed at the ankle, turning a page in a Muggle novel he'd charmed to look like a Potions textbook. He didn't look up.
Blaise Zabini
You've been checking your phone every five minutes.
Theodore Nott
sharply I have not.
Blaise Zabini
You have. It's pathetic, honestly.
Theodore Nott
No, it's not pathetic. It's just — it's been six hours. Six hours since I gave them the necklace. And they haven't taken it off. I saw it. I saw the way their fingers kept touching it under the table at breakfast. Tesoro. Vita mia. I should have kissed them longer. I should have —
He cut the thought off before it could spiral. Not here. Not in front of them.
Mattheo Riddle
leaning forward, grinning Wait. Is this about that secret girlfriend of yours?
The common room suddenly felt ten degrees warmer.
Theodore Nott
I don't have a secret girlfriend.
Mattheo Riddle
ignoring him You've been disappearing for months. Skipping Quidditch parties. Leaving the dorm at weird hours. Enzo saw you smiling at your phone like a complete idiot last week.
Lorenzo Berkshire
from the sofa, not even looking up from his own phone It's true. I did. It was disturbing.
Theodore Nott
flatly I was reading something funny.
Draco Malfoy
snapping his book shut You were smiling at a text from someone. And you've been suspiciously unavailable. So either you've got a secret girlfriend, or you've taken up something deeply embarrassing, like knitting.
Theodore Nott
I was smiling at their good morning message. The one with the ridiculous photo of their breakfast. They always send me one. Every morning. For eight months. And I love it. I love them. I—
Mattheo Riddle
grinning It's someone in our year, isn't it? Someone we know.
Theodore Nott
heartbeat quickening Drop it, Mattheo.
Mattheo Riddle
Is it Greengrass? No, she's too sensible for you. Parkinson? She'd eat you alive. What about—
Mattheo paused, something dangerous flickering across his face.
Mattheo Riddle
Wait. You haven't been acting weird around Y/n lately, have you?
Y/n.
Just their name, spoken casually across the common room, and Theodore felt something in his chest seize.
Theodore Nott
carefully What about them?
Mattheo Riddle
You two have been... off. You don't talk to them in public. You don't sit near them. But I've seen you looking at them. Like you're waiting for something.
Draco Malfoy
scoffing Don't be absurd. Nott can barely stand them.
Theodore Nott
The necklace. It's sitting against their collarbone right now. I put it there this morning. My hands were shaking. They laughed at me. Told me I was being sentimental. I said, "Only for you." They didn't stop smiling for an hour. I love them. I love them so much it's ruining me.
Mattheo Riddle
So? Is it them? Your secret girlfriend?
Theodore forced his expression into something bored. Something dismissive. Something that would end this conversation.
Theodore Nott
laughs, short and cold You seriously think I'd date someone like Y/n?
The words left his mouth before he could stop them. They hung in the air, sharp and ugly. Mattheo laughed. Draco smirked. Lorenzo snorted. Blaise didn't look up, but his page turned a little too slowly.
Theodore Nott
No. No, no, no. That's not—I didn't mean—
Mattheo Riddle
still laughing Yeah, that's what I thought. Imagine Nott settling down with someone so... ordinary.
Draco Malfoy
amused They're not even worth the rumour, clearly.
Theodore opened his mouth to say something, anything, to claw the words back, but the moment was already gone. The laughter was already moving on. And then—just at the edge of his hearing—the softest sound from the doorway.
A step backward. A breath caught and then silenced.
Theodore Nott
Il mio cuore. No.
But when he turned, the doorway was empty.
Theodore Nott
They heard. They heard all of it. Oh God. Oh God, what did I do?
The fire crackled. The others kept talking. And Theodore sat very, very still, one hand pressed against his chest, where the matching chain—his own half of the anniversary set, the one they'd laughed about together that morning—lay hidden beneath his shirt.
The world continued around him, warm and ordinary and utterly unchanged.
It was the first night in eight months he would not receive a goodnight message.