#drawing theo's tail is going to kill me one day

[aloneatpeace]

𝙰𝙿𝙾𝙲𝙰𝙻𝚈𝙿𝚃𝙸𝙲 𝚆𝙾𝚁𝙻𝙳

HORRORS OF THE NIGHT '8'

.→✒️:★: ͜͡✿͜͡ →. I have been in hell when i couldn't write anything. I thought i could focus on studies but writing the only thing that keeps me sane.

TW : Major character death (sorry)

One stabbing oneself.

Have good reading ❤️

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The night felt similar to that of when you had spent the night in the maze but more terrifying. Everyone knows what coming out of the maze to hunt them and they don’t have an efficient defense system to save themselves.

Yoongi knows that as well. Despite knowing that the grievers in the maze is something they cannot easily defeat, they never thought that a day would come where they have to fight the grievers for their life. These walls were the only thing that kept them away from the boys now the doors are all open leaving them vulnerable to the creatures

“Taehyung, tell everyone to gather at council hall” he commands taehyung took off running nodding “Winston goes with him” he turns to hoseok “hoseok grab every weapon we have we will meet council hall”

Hoseok nods leaving with seokjin, gally instruct some of the boys to go hide in the woods.

Yoongi grabs you by your hands “you and Theo are going you get Namjoon and jungkook and jimin all right?” he asks looking at in your eyes snaping you out of your mind. You wordlessly nod. But before you and Theo can leave the sound of boys shouting from the distance is heard the group of boys come running out the words that not only thing from the darkness of the maze a giant figure creeps in.

The roaring of griever echoes through the open doors making everyone turn, the limbs of the griever is all you see everything in you scream to run and hide “Everybody hide!”

You all run to the corn filed hoping the large plants will cover and hide you all from the creature the screaming of boys still echoed from the distance no doubt that they are also being hunted by the creature.

Panting you all sit down the field yoongi’s hands clasp around you making you look at him he gestures everyone to be quiet as the sound of the griever nearby followed by the screams of someone.

That’s when zart get grabbed by it as the creature’s meatal limb clasp around his back a scream leaving his mouth. You scramble to grab his hands but he was already taken by the creature.

yoongi pulls you back. And once again you all starts running for your life, halfway you guys meet with Namjoon who is being supported by jimin and jungkook.

“y/n what’s going on?” jimin asks

You stop Infront of them “the grievers they’re here”

“We need to get council hall “yoongi state he glances at Namjoon, jimin and jungkook “you three sticks together”

You, yoongi and Theo takes torches and weapons that you find anything that could save you all as on from every side the grievers killing the boys.

Just as you all run towards a griever crash right Infront of you it snarls the mechanical tail lifting as its claw extends to grab anyone that it can reach.

Theo quickly grabs a jar that use to light and throws it at the griever igniting the thing on fire, the creature screech as the fire consumes it completely. Now that it is away from the path the running starts again, the creature following with aggravated snarls.

Namjoon trips and falls bringing jimin and jungkook down with him jimin yells at Namjoon for falling but nonetheless he helps him along with jungkook.

You and yoongi draw out your weapons as the creature stand Infront you, pushing the three behind you.

With adrenaline rushing through you stand Infront of them screaming at the creature to fight chest heaving.

Before the creature can hurt any of you it was struck by spears, hoseok and seokjin come running towards you.

“GUYS COME ON” Taehyung yells from the council hall waving at everyone to come fast.

Hoseok who is the last one to get in shut the doors backing away from the door everyone stands in fear silently afraid to make noise that could get them all killed flinching when it starts pounding on the door.

The creature circle around looking for a way to get in, the creature jumps on the roof and everyone huddle towards the door suddenly the creatures tail breaks the roof and pulls up the pole that hold the roof up making it come crashing down everyone.

One of the boys get grabbed by the creature before anyone can save him, everyone gathers around again the creature again circle around and it penetrate through the walls grabbing the boy who was close.

Jungkook screams when the creatures claw gets wrapped around his torso, your eyes widen when he gets lifted reaching for his you get hold on his hands and everyone join in pulling jungkook back.

“Jungkook don’t let it go” jimin screams at him.

“NO SHIT”

Namjoon pants holding his sides his face hardening when he sees the stung getting ready to inject jungkook, pushing himself up he garb the machete and with yell he cuts the tail making the creature retreat and jungkook to falls on tops you all.

You garb jungkook faces making him look at you “are you okey?”

He coughs “yeah. I’m fine” sitting up jungkook doesn’t seems to fazed at all he takes the stung that fallen off from creature and turns to namjoon “thanks namjoon”

You let out a sigh of relief sitting down for moment too quickly as the tail come right back namjoon name leave your lips with scream when he gets grabbed pushing yourself stand up you dash towards him grabbing on to his hands.

You pull him towards you with all your strength “hold on”.

Namjoon eyes watch you with longing as maybe this is how things mend to be, maybe this is the last time he gets to see. He never regrets meeting you, being friends with you, falling for you, loving you. his only regret is that he didn’t get tell you that, hold you one more time, kiss you once again to feel what is like to live that moment.

He neglects the fact that being with you, getting his friends involved with you a factor that led to the decision of them sending him and his friends in the maze.

He doesn’t know how you got here, why would they send you down here but he knows that you will get them all out of here.

“You, get them out.” He whispers to you maybe you knew that he’s giving up because he could feel your tightening your hands around his.

You scream for him when his hands leave yours running out the hut not stopping when the boys protest against.

The glade is destroyed distant screams of boys and snarling of grievers still echoes a devested look falls on everyone’s face, Theo watches you as you take in the site Infront of you sadly.

Gally come speeding towards you a glare fixed on his face the boys who was still unable to digest the fact that Namjoon is gone again didn’t see him.

Jungkook is blaming himself for what happened and his friends knows that seokjin hold him by his shoulder sharing knowing glance with yoongi and hoseok. Taehyung and jimin silently mourn the loss of Namjoon.

Their attention is taken away when Theo yells for you as gally punch you square in the face making you fall down. Theo run towards you just behind him jimin and jungkook as yoongi and hoseok, taehyung and seokjin held gally back putting distance between you and him.

“This is all you, y/n! look around” gally screams at you.

Jimin and Theo helps you stand up, the hit was hard you could fell the split lip when you hit the ground

“Back off, gally it’s not her fault” hoseok yells at him.

“You heard what Namjoon said. She’s one of them!”

“One of who?”

“She’s one of them, and they sent her here to destroy everything, and now she has!” he states thrashing around the boys hold.

The accusation weighting in you, he is right Namjoon even said he remembers that you wereone of them that send them here.

Namjoon….

“Look around, y/n! look around! This is your fault”

You hung your head not having any words to defend yourself agreeing with gally words, but you don’t remember anything.

Your eyes find the stung that jungkook hold in his hands.

“Back off, gally this is not her fault! Stop blaming her” taehyung glare at him

“This is no one’s fault. Stop starting a fight gally. Calm down” yoongi said sternly “let go him” he said “And you better stay put” he warns him authority evident in his tone as the boys let go him.

Jungkook look down in his hands when he feels the device being taken away from his handsturning away from them, he sees you.

You take the stinger, fear and guilt creeping in you rapidly making you heart tight “maybe he’s right.” You mumble

Jungkook hear this “what?”

Jimin and Theo share knowing look as jimin slowly walks towards you “hey, don’t listen to him” he softly said. Theo calls your name but you seem not hear them your intense gaze fixed on the device.

“I have to remember, have to remember” you state before jungkook can stop your hands you stab yourself with the stinger a loud gasp escaping you. the others turn to you when they hear your name being screamed in panic Jungkook and Jimin’s hands stretch to catch you as you fall the others too come running towards you.

Everything turns blurs the sounds starts to fade away the last thing you register is the boys panicked face and Theo screaming for the vial that contains the serum.

A lady in white coat smile at you as you hand her new reports.

Theo sat across you as he works, he’s eyes finds yours.

“Why are we doing this?”

“Excellent work y/n, come with me"

The beeping of heart monitor, the next thing you feel immense shock wave rushing your body.

“Wicked isn’t good.” Theo said.

“Wicked is good” the women said you nod at her as she leaves you turns to the pot that keep

the boys, the text subject in water.

“How could be this be my fault?”

You watch Namjoon lay in the pot with wires connected to him.

As you walk through the hallway with Theo wicked guards drag away barley conscious yoongi and seokjin making you pause but Theo pulls you away.

Taehyung bang on the glass window his eyes plead at you with something you don’t know.

You stand behind the glass door watching jimin and jungkook memories gets wiped out.

“I can’t watch them die again” you said to Theo he says nothing.

You watch Namjoon, yoongi, seokjin, hoseok, jimin, taehyung and jungkook sits in circle in the middle of night talking among them in the glade.

“I can’t let them suffer any longer”

"Do you know them?" Theo asks taking your hands in his.

You glance at the boys before meeting Theo’s eyes “No”

The boys sit around under the shade they have been sitting here after gally had ordered to put you and Theo in the pit.

The Glade is destroyed the Gladers are in Gally’s favor, he is the first in command, the boys had no strength to fight him. They were given the ultimatum.

“Seems like no one is going to say but so I will” Taehyung voiced capturing everyone’s attention

“we can’t stay here, any longer. At night those things are going to come back and….” he bites

his lips shutting his eyes “I can’t lose another one of you”

Jimin clasp his hands on taehyung knees squeezing his leg as latter’s voice shake at the end.

“He’s right” hoseok speak up “we have to get out of here” he glances at yoongi who laying down his eyes are closed but hoseok knows he is awake.

Jin turns to hoseok “you’re saying get out way you and y/n found”.

“Yeah, I have the key and I know the maze like the back of my hand”

“What about the others? What about Y/n?” jungkook finally speak up he has been silent since the incident at the council hut. His lift his head sitting straight from the slouched posture receiving sympathetic glance when they see his red puffy eyes, face sticky from tears. “We can’t leave her”

“We are not leave anyone behind if anyone want to come, they’re welcomed. But then again,

we don’t even know if we can pull this off” jin explains.

Jungkook open his mouth but jimin cut him off “that not what he meant.” They glance at jimin and jungkook in confusion.

“When we are with him at the med jack, Namjoon was rumbling about her” he looks apprehensive “he kept saying that he remembers her that he couldn’t believe that she is here, how did she do it and why was she here. At first, I thought he might be angry at her you know he’s the one with the memories now. But he was surprise and scared for her”

“Why?” yoongi who now sitting up questions with uncertainty in his orbs seokjin, hoseok and taehyung share the same emotion.

Jimin shrugs “he didn’t exactly tell us, said that we all have to get out the maze before they take her away again. And who is they I don’t know we couldn’t ask by then we heard shouting and came out looking for you guys”

“What do we do now?” taehyung asked

Yoongi exhale running his hands through his hair “you three” he points at hoseok, taehyung and

jungkook “pack essential things and figure out what’s exactly gally going to do, the rest of us will talk with her. then we are getting out of here one way or another”

Theo looks down on his lap gazing at your face, he moves the stray hair on face tucking it behind your ears.

“Tell him to stop touching her” jimin lean towards yoongi whispering without taking eyes of

Theo. His eyes widen when Theo wipes dried blood off your lips.

“I don’t like this”

Seokjin pats on his shoulders “we know”

“Is she waking up?” yoongi asks Theo

Theo glance up “no, should I wake her?”

“yeah” taehyung said “as much I would like her to rest, she needs to know what’s going to happen” he adds.

Yoongi and seokjin nods sighing Theo gently shakes you.

Your eyes flutter few times and Theo’s face fills your vision “Are you okey?”

“Sweetheart are you alright?” an enthusiastic voices call.

“Keep it down” jin smacks jimin head making him whine “yoongi, can you move a little?” jin crouch down as you sit up with grunt. He calls your name making him look at you his kind smile falls “WHAT IN THE WORLD WERE YOU THINKING? HUH” Jin’s loud voice startle everyone.

“ARE YOU OUT YOUR MIND.WHAT...MMMM” his words cut off his mouth is shut with yoongi hands.

Disoriented you look around “What? what happened? Why are you yelling?”

“Gally has taken control.” Yoongi said take his hands off jin’s face silently warning the male. “He said we had a choice either join him…or get banished with sundown with you”

You see hoseok, jungkook and taehyung missing and that’s making disappointed maybe they resailed that you’re not worth the trouble. “And the others agreed to that?”

“Hoseok and the other two with gally trying to negotiate” seokjin explained.

“Gally has everyone convinced that you’re the reason all this has happened.” Theo adds

That’s the truth isn’t it, you are the reason why it all happened “well, he’s been right so far.”you said numbly.

“What are you talking about” jimin frowns not liking the statement at all the other share the sentiment.

Wrapping your arms around yourself you lean against the wall of the pit “this place it’s not what we thought it was. It’s not a prison, it’s test. they were experimenting on us. And then people started disappearing. Every month, one after other, like clockwork.”

“They were sending them up in the maze.” Yoongi speak up.

“Yeah, but not all of us.” Your words dry out guilt creep up on your throat “guys, I’m one of them. The people who put you here, I work with them. I watched you guys for years.”

As the word leaves your mouth you brace yourself for there reaction, jin to yell at you, jimin to leave you and yoongi glare with hatred anything but they didn’t when you look at them, they look away and somehow that’s hurts you more than it should.

“The entire time you been here, I was on the other side of it. so were you.” your eyes locking with Theo.

“What?”

“Theo, we did this to them.” You conclude with heavy heart.

Theo shakes his head in disbelief that he would do something like that “No. that can’t be true.”

“It is. I saw it.”

“Why would they send us up if we were with them?” Theo voice shake with frustration.

You shrug shaking your head “it doesn’t matter.”

“She’s right.” Yoongi voice cut through making everyone look at him, his eyes were on you pining you with his intense gaze “it doesn’t matter. Any of it because the people we were before the maze don’t even exist anymore. These creators took care of that but what does matter is who we are now, and what we do right now. You went into the maze and you found a way out.”

“Yeah, but if I hadn’t Namjoon would still be alive.”

It the truth and that’s make yoongi pause “maybe, but I know that if he were here, he would be telling you the exact same thing. Pick yourself up, Finish what you started because if we do nothing then that mean Namjoon died for nothing, and I can’t have that.”

Seokjin smile at yoongi words grateful that he didn’t lose himself after everything, jin knows how deep yoongi feels how he burden himself everything, alone. afraid to let show his buddled- up emotions.

Yoongi is right Namjoon would want you to continue as well that’s what he said, you have to get them out of here, for Namjoon’s sake, for everyone’s sake.

And for yourself as well, somehow, you’re the reason that they are all trapped here and treated like lab rats, the only way to undo it to get them out of here even if its mean to sacrifice your life for that you would do it, for them.

“Okey, but we gotta get through gally first.”

Series masterlist

🏷️If anyone wanted to be tagged let me know

#kim seokjin x reader #kim namjoon x reader #kim taehyung x reader #namjoon x you #namjoon x reader #taehyung x reader #taehyung x you #seokjin x reader #seokjin x you #min yoongi x reader #park jimin x reader #jung hoseok x reader #jeon jungkook x reader #jungkook x reader #jungkook x you #jimin x reader #jimin x you #hoseok x you #hoseok x reader #yoongi x reader #yoongi x you #bts ot7 #bts ot7 x reader #bts x fem!reader #bts x y/n #bts x you #bts maze runner au #the maze runner #x reader #bts fanfic

[voidstilesplease]

command me to be well

(a Beacon Hills Academy for the Supernaturals ficlet)

~•~

Supernatural creatures are known and accepted in society, and they have their branch and section in everything - the government, religion, court justice, health, food production, etc. They coexist with humans. There are still supremacist groups on both ends of the spectrum, but as a whole, supernaturals and humans share the world in equal.

In Beacon Hills Academy for the Supernaturals, mages (magic wielders) and shapeshifters (werewolves, werefoxes, were-coyotes, etc.) study and learn about themselves, strengths, and weaknesses, and adaptation in the human world. 

Stiles takes both mage and shapeshifter classes. His mother had been a fire werefox, and his grandmother a mage. The magic ability stays dormant in between generations, so Stiles received the spark that skipped his mother. Stiles's dad is the Sheriff of Beacon Hills, Homo Sapiens division. (It's not what it's called, but Stiles uses the term to annoy his father.) 

Every werefox can shift to their animal forms since birth. Their blood has no infectious components like werewolves, to turn an existing creature into one. So their kind only reproduces through procreation, but the power comes only between the ages of eighteen to twenty and never predictable. There are thirteen classifications of werefoxes: Heaven, Wind, Spirit, Fire, Earth, River, Ocean, Mountain, Forest, Thunder, Time, Sound, and Dark. And they all have to study every single one element through simulations and a weird practice called internalization. It's like the Buddhists' enlightenment when they have to "seek within themselves the core of their being" or whatever crap like that.

His mage classes are much worse. As a werefox, his reading skills are for shit, even with his human blood. His kind takes time to make sense of written symbols -it's called dyslexia in the human tongue- and so it proves to be a problem in his magic lessons.

"Stiles!" Kira, also a werefox and his non-biological sister, appears at his side after class. "Come over this afternoon and have dinner at home. Dad is making sushi."

The mention of sushi makes his mouth water, but he curls his lips downward. "I can't. I'm on my way to solitary study."

She winces sympathetically, "Yikes."

The solitary study is another word for detention in the Supernatural school. The students are put into confinement to reflect and read. It could be for an hour up to five -their offense and the amount of hate the teacher has for them decides the length of the stay. It doesn't sound bad when you hear of it the first time, but the stillness of being alone in a white room, being forced to think, drives everyone crazy. Stiles is probably the one person in the school who has seen those walls the most.

"What happened?" She asks, hoisting her backpack, forehead creasing intently.

Stiles shrugs, "In my mage class, we were practicing an incantation. I mispronounced a word because the symbols were flying all over the page," they stop walking when they reach the hallway that will separate them; Kira to the exit, and Stiles to his punishment. "All the light bulbs in the room broke simultaneously, and the shards went everywhere, mostly lodged in my classmates' and teacher's faces."

"Ouch,"

Stiles hums, curling his lips. "My incantation teacher hates me, just as much as I hate him. Every mistake I make is an excuse for him to send me to solitary. He also thinks I'm doing it on purpose. He gave me five hours today, and I'm expecting another tomorrow for the potion I fucked up earlier in another of his class."

"But that's unfair," Kira says, indignant for Stiles. "We're dyslexic. Every teacher should consider the limitations of each of us."

Stiles purses his lips but doesn't say anything. He doesn't mention to Kira that when the symbols rearrange in his mind, it's not always a gibberish mess. Sometimes, they're also perfectly readable -and quite harmful, depending on the caster's intention. He doesn't mention that more than half the time, he purposely utters curses and adds the wrong ingredients to concoctions. Stiles only does it for fun, though, to ruffle his teachers and enemies. He's a school jester; everyone knows that. He doesn't mean to cause pain to anyone -not all the time.

He's not vicious or vengeful. He swears he's not.

He's only a playful fox, curious with the less explored potentials of his power -even its violent capacity.

~•~

But it gets worse. It becomes an inclination more than a mere curiosity, especially when Stiles meets him.

In his fourth year in the Supernatural school, the management opened a program for the underaged supernaturals in the custody center. They're the young, homeless lawbreakers abandoned to the care of social workers after countless encounters with the law enforcement and their family's depletion of funds to cover the fines for damages they have caused.

The program grants them one term of attendance in the school instead of being instructed by tutors at the center, and a second one if the first term yields positive reports.

There are eight of them, and all are shapeshifters. There are three werewolves, a kanima, a wendigo, a chameleon, an electric eel (Stiles doesn't want to know how this kind came to be), and a were-coyote. All of them have criminal records, of course, but one has a count for murder - and his sister, no less. And Stiles knew him before his lock-up. They had not been friends because of Stiles's mistrust of canine shapeshifters, but he recognizes him right at first sight in years.

But while werefoxes prefer to stay away from the dogs, the latter doesn't have such urge to keep scarce, especially one among the outlaws: Theo Raeken.

He's taken one look at Stiles and decided to torment him. Witnessing Stiles do illegal magic did not help the case. Instead, it invited Theo more. Theo stalks him (as much as he can inside school grounds), stares at him, vies for his attention, pushes all the wrong but right buttons. Stiles feels repulsed by the way his blood thrums in Theo's presence. He's disgusted with himself for getting excited by his challenge. Stiles reminds himself daily that it's Theo -the one who murders their blood, and will probably have no qualms on staining their hands with someone else's. But Theo keeps provoking him, daring him to let go of caution. 

One day, Stiles does.

He unleashes himself and leaves Theo bloody, beaten-up, broken, and exhilarated, and himself satisfied for the first time. Theo stops prodding him after that. He starts tempting him: We can run. None of them listens. Their truth is the only truth. And Stiles thinks he's right.

He's almost eighteen. His fox's element should be manifesting -and it looks like it is.

~•~

"What happens if I turn out to be the wrong kind?" Stiles asks Kira one night, in the middle of video game night at her house.

Kira is focused on the screen, but she echoes Stiles. "The wrong kind?"

"A dark fox,"

That pulls Kira's attention away from the screen quicker than they can run. Her eyes are wide with alarm when she presses pause and turns to Stiles. She opens her mouth but speaks nothing for a long time. It seems she's too shocked for words. Finally, she shakes her head. "You're not."

Stiles sighs, putting down his controller. "There's one out of thirteen possibilities that I am. It's little, but it's there nonetheless."

Kira scoots closer, holding Stiles's arm, her clutch tight. "Yes, but," she stammers, "there hasn't been one in a long time."

"Of course, there isn't," Stiles agrees, looking at Kira. "They're exterminated as soon as they present to snuff out any chance of gaining power and growing a second tail."

"But you're not one," Kira says forcefully, eyes suspiciously moist.

Stiles replies softly, "I enjoy causing mayhem."

She shakes her head hard, "We all like trouble, Stiles. That's sort of what we are,"

Stiles can't look at her eyes when he admits his truth, so he turns away. "I inflict pain," Kira freezes in her touch. "and like it. The sight of blood makes me sick but with pleasure. I-" he pauses, wipes the sweat that gathered in his nose. He swallows. "I want to get into someone's head and twist their mind. I have done it, and I want to do it again."

Kira draws uneven breaths beside him. Her scent has turned sweet with fear -and though it makes his stomach twist, Stiles inhales it, savors it.

Kira's voice quivers, "If you learn to suppress it-"

"If it can be suppressed and controlled, there would've been no vulpine law authorizing the killing of a nogitsune."

Kira bows her head in defeat, sniffing.

"My magic," his whispering voice is loud in her room, reverberating in its four walls. He's been coming here since he was a child. Who knows when and if he can have the chance again. "It knows what I might be. It flows in my veins with my blood, rushing when I'm doing what I shouldn't be."

They're silent for a long moment; Stiles refuses to meet Kira's eyes, and Kira strives to calm her racing heart. She doesn't recoil from her touch, even when she was afraid. Now that the fear has subsided, she moves to kneel in front of him and takes his face between her small hands, prompting him to face her. When he raises his head, Kira's eyes are glowing, fiery around the black. Stiles flashes his in response.

"If you are," Kira says, tone final and sure. "I'm with you. You're my brother, and I love you."

Stiles knows she will stand by her words, but he doesn't wish her to. Kira has a whole life ahead of her that she can't spend hiding a nogitsune or running with one.

Because Stiles will run, damn if he won't. He's not going down, and he won't let them catch him. 

He leans his head against her hand, kissing the soft palm of it. He rubs his nose on the residual unease still clinging underneath her skin. "I love you, too."

And then he will come back invincible.

~•~

#steo #steo au #steo fic #steo ficlet #stira #stira brotp #teen wolf #teen wolf au #teen wolf fic #stiles stilinski #theo raeken #kira yukimura #BH Academy for the Supernaturals #supernatiurals are known au #stiles x theo #stiles and kira are bffs #void stiles #fics tag

[ellewritesathing]

So Close - S.S. XXXV

Summary: The universe has a funny way of putting the things you want right in front of you, but just out of reach. Stiles and Y/N have been best friends ever since Scott brought him home, but when Stiles realizes that he might want to be something other than best friends, she leaves to go to some fancy private school up North. Now that she’s back though … maybe he’s got a shot? A Teen Wolf AU in which the reader has always been so close to Stiles and yet so far.

Masterlist    Prev. | Part 35

Word-count: 2.9k+

A/N: so it’s a little short but we’re building to some important stuff!! hope you like it

Stiles Stilinski inherited many things from his father, one of which being his love of a good surface to map out his thoughts and clues. Stiles used the clear dry-erase board in his room; Noah used the cork board in his office at the police station. It currently sported a few pages from police reports and photos of Tracy and Lucas. 

“Chimeras,” Noah said. 

“Two dead chimeras,” Stiles said. “Plus eight new ones. So, ten in all.” 

“I’m thinking maybe eleven,” Noah said, pinning a new photo to his current array. A photo of Donovan. 

Stiles' heart rate spiked and you gripped his hand a little tighter.

“Our station tech guys confirmed something for me,” Noah went on as he turned around to face you. “They said both the holding cell lock and cameras could have malfunctioned because of something electromagnetic.” He picked up the book Malia and Kira found in Tracy’s room. “You said that, uh, that’s how these guys got into Eichen?” 

“So you think that makes Donovan one of their chimeras?” you asked. You walked towards Noah and the board to take any attention off Stiles. “But no one’s seen him since that night-” You picked up his red marker that he used to cross out Tracy’s photo “-so they probably killed him just like they killed Tracy.”

Noah caught your hand before you could cross out Donovan’s photo. “We don’t cross him out until I’ve seen a body,” he said. 

“Your board,” you said with a smile. You wanted to fix this but you weren’t sure how, so you settled for trying to get Stiles out of the precinct before he combusted. “Listen, we should probably get going if we’re going to make it to school before the first bell.”

“Of course,” Noah said with a smile. He turned and looked over at Stiles a few feet away; he was looking out the window, biting his nails, and with tense shoulders. “Hey, Stiles, you’re uncharacteristically quiet. What do you think about all this?” 

“Well, these are all teenagers, right?” Stiles said. He turned away from the window and let go of his hands. “So shouldn’t we be trying to figure out why these teenagers? If the Dread Doctors- if they went through all that … burying them, killing them, breaking one of them out of jail … They couldn’t have been chosen at random.”

“So they had to have something in common that made them right for this experiment,” Noah said. 

“Something that made them special,” Stiles said. He caught your eye and took a breath. 

“Well, uh, I’ve kept you kids long enough,” Noah said. “You should get going if you’re gonna make it to school on time.” 

“School,” you repeated, running a hand through your hair. “What a concept.” 

The school day dragged on once you and Stiles split up to go to your classes. The most exciting part of the day was when you tried to print a paper at the library and it was out of ink, and when you looked up you saw Kira slipping out with about a million copies in her arms. 

Those copies came in handy when all your friends gathered in your living room to read Valeck’s book about the Dread Doctors. 

“My mom’s book club usually has more wine,” Lydia said.

“Well, they also probably didn’t read books that cause violent hallucinations,” Stiles said. 

“I’m guessing that’s what the wine’s for,” you said, leaning down to pick up one of the copies. 

“Maybe I should have my mother read it,” Lydia said. She picked up the book and flipped through the pages. “She might remember a girl with a tail leaping off the ceiling and attacking everyone.”

“Yeah, if it works,” Stiles said. 

Lydia’s voice was much smaller when she spoke again. “It has to.”

“What do you mean, Lyd?” you asked, touching her arm lightly. 

She straightened back up and spoke clearly again. “I mean I think I saw them during my surgery. And when I look at the cover of the book … it’s almost like …” 

“A memory trying to surface,” Theo said. 

You still didn’t like having him around but Scott was insistent you trust him, at least for now, so he was here for book club. Even if no one wanted him here.

“Isn’t that what Valeck wanted when he wrote the book?” Kira asked. 

“If they did anything to me,” Lydia said. “I want to know what it is.”

Lydia stormed off, book in hand, to find a place to read while everyone else grabbed a copy off the coffee table. You touched Stiles’ lower back lightly to get his attention as he squinted at the title page and nodded at one of the nearby armchairs. 

The two of you settled in, your head resting on Stiles’ upper bicep and your legs tangled up over the coffee table. Every now and then, Stiles would reach up and run a hand through your hair in an attempt to keep himself focused. Your efforts, on the other hand, weren’t so valiant and you fell asleep somewhere around chapter ten. 

When you woke up again, Stiles coaxed you into helping him make coffee for everyone. You sat on the kitchen island as he worked, making each cup the way each friend preferred - it was sweet. The lack of words made things feel familiar and secret. 

And Theo strolled in. 

“Need any help with that?” he asked. 

“No, we’re, uh- we’re all good, man,” Stiles said, nodding at him over his shoulder. 

Theo nodded and reached his hand out. He said something about understanding and then patted the top of Stiles’ shoulder twice, a bit roughly, before you had the chance to intervene. “Woah, you okay, dude?” he asked when Stiles tensed and muffled a groan. 

“Yeah, I just pulled a muscle,” Stiles lied easily. His heart didn’t falter for a second. “You know how it is with the back-to-school rush.” 

“Right,” Theo said, drawing out the word. It was clear he didn’t believe him but he dropped it, opting to talk to you instead. He turned to you with an attempt at a friendly smile. “So what do you think of the book?” 

“I think if it helps me find the people hurting my friends, then it’s worth it,” you said, sliding off the island and not breaking eye contact. “Because if there’s one thing you should know about me, it’s that I don’t let anyone hurt my friends.” 

Theo’s smile changed in a way that unsettled you. He dropped his eyes for a second before looking back up at you with a low laugh. “Yeah, I know. That’s why I’m trying so hard to be one of your friends.” 

“Right,” you said. 

“Coffee’s up,” Stiles said, breaking through the tension. “Hey, Theo, if you wanna help, you can go get everyone.”

“Yeah, sure,” Theo said, looking over to give Stiles a smile before heading out of the kitchen. 

Stiles turned to you and mouthed the words ‘what the hell do you think you’re doing’ and you gave him a noncommittal shrug that said you’d do better next time. He rolled his eyes and handed you a mug. “Just drink your coffee and don’t punch anyone,” he said. “Alright? Please.” 

“No promises,” you hummed over the rim of your mug. You took a sip of the coffee and relaxed slightly. “Okay, let’s finish that book.” 

---

School felt more like a dream the next day than anything else, especially with Stiles and Lydia going to the hospital to investigate her repressed memory. You were just going through the motions until someone rushed into your English class asking if anyone had an inhaler. The shock of it grounded you in the real world and you dug through your bag to get Scott’s old inhaler before running for it. 

“Scott?” You pushed through the crowd of students that formed around the door to the biology class. “Scott!” He was leaned up against the desk and wheezing but Scott turned his head to look at you. You dropped to your knees and pressed the inhaler into his hands and up to his lips. “Scotty, you gotta breathe, okay? On three I need you to take a big breath, you understand?” 

Scott nodded and you counted down. When he breathed in, you pressed down on the inhaler and hoped for the best. 

“There we go,” you said gently, pushing back some of the hair on his forehead. “Welcome back to the land of the living. Well, you know what I mean.” 

“Where did you get an inhaler?” Scott asked, deep frown lines still on his forehead. “Wait, is this ... my inhaler?” 

“Someone had to keep it around when you started leaving it at home,” you said, sliding your hand up to his face while the other held onto his neck. It was an asthma attack, not the flu so you weren’t sure why you were checking for a fever but it made you feel better. 

“But I haven’t had an asthma attack in like two years,” Scott said. 

“Yeah, and today you did.” 

“Are you two okay here?” Ms. Finch asked. You looked over at her and forced a smile, hoping that it conveyed your desire to be left alone. “Okay, the rest of you, clear out!”

Even though Scott insisted he was fine, you didn’t want to leave him alone, and when the lights went out later in the day you rushed over to find him. You found him with Theo, both of them coming out of the stairwell that led to the basement. 

Scott explained how Theo came to check on him when the lights went out and they went down to the generator to investigate - the wires were ripped out by another chimera - and now they were trying to get a hold of Malia and Kira. 

“Hey, you okay?” you asked when you saw Malia coming down the stairs. 

“Yeah, we both are. Kira’s still at the library,” she said, nodding over at Theo and Scott. “Where’s the others?”

“Stiles and Lydia are still at the hospital trying to figure out what happened during her surgery,” you said, running your hand through your hair. You’d feel a lot better if they were with you. 

“How long are they gonna be there?” Malia asked. 

“They said they’re just waiting for the power to come back on,” Scott said. 

“Which is why we’re heading there now,” you finished as Theo pushed open the doors to the parking lot. You mumbled a thank you and pushed ahead to the car,

Turns out that wouldn’t be the last interaction you and Theo had; Scott’s plan was for him to find your mom, Malia to find Lydia, and you and Theo to find Stiles. He ignored your protests about splitting up but Theo grabbed your arm and started pulling you towards the elevator. 

“What the hell are you doing?” you asked, yanking your hand back to your body. 

“Can’t you smell that?” Theo asked. He took a breath when you stared at him. “Chemo-signals. Stiles’ chemo-signals, specifically. He was here and he was anxious.” 

“He’s always anxious,” you said quietly as Theo punched the button on the elevator. It bothered you that you hadn’t noticed it before. 

You got off at the same floor that Stiles did and followed the smell of his anxiety all the way to the roof. The last time you were up here was when the alpha pack was still terrorizing your friends - you never thought you’d miss that experience. But in that instant you couldn’t miss anything, you were too overwhelmed by the sight of one of the kids in your homeroom class trying to rip off Stiles’ face. 

“Josh?” 

Either Theo didn’t go through the same shock that you did or he just recovered faster. He rushed forward, pulled Josh off of Stiles, and then threw him across the roof. They started fighting amidst all the sparks from the ripped up generator but you didn’t pay any attention as you rushed to check on Stiles. 

“Hey, hey, you okay?” You held his face in yours but he was still staring at Theo and Josh. How many times were you going to find him delirious and covered in blood? “Stiles, can you hear me?” 

“Yeah. Yeah, I-” Stiles blinked over your shoulder and looked back over at you. He lifted his hand to your face for a second before pointing over your shoulder. “I think you should go help him.” 

Sparks flew and you lunged over to cover Stiles. They burned your back but you’d heal. By the time it was over and you were back on your feet, Theo was holding onto Josh by the neck. He tore out his throat before you got a chance to stop him. Josh fell to the ground and choked on his blood. 

“Stiles …” Theo took a step forward and you pulled Stiles behind you. Theo looked hurt by the action. “You guys can’t say anything. Please- please, don’t say anything.”

“Why the hell not?” you asked, doing your best to maintain eye contact and not look at the body of your dying classmate. 

“Because I never said anything about Donovan,” Theo said. 

You let go of Stiles’ hand and marched closer, wrapping your other hand around Theo’s neck and pushing him back against the generator. Another mini-explosion of sparks went off as his body collided with the fence, but your hold on his neck didn’t falter. Stiles was right behind you, ducking slightly when the sparks flew but right behind you a second later.

“What did you just say?” you asked. 

Stiles called out your name and started to say something but he got cut off. He put a hand on your lower back, but he was still focused on Theo.

“I know what happened to Donovan,” Theo said. “I know everything.” 

“You don’t know anything,” Stiles told him.  

Theo started struggling under your hand but you gripped tighter, claws coming out to keep him in place. After a shallow laugh he looked over at Stiles. “I was there- at the library.” Stiles nodded at you and you loosened your grip ever so slightly. “Malia found the book. She was texting us to see where you guys were because she said she left the two of you at the library and she hadn’t heard from you since then. I told her I was close by. When I got there, I heard the scaffolding come down.”

Your blood ran cold. That was why she tried to call the other night. If you answered your phone, would you still be in this position now? Would Stiles?

“You saw him?” Stiles asked. 

“Just the body,” Theo said. Stiles rubbed your lower back, a signal to let go, but you couldn’t bring yourself to do it. Theo looked down at your hands for a second before continuing, “I watched you come out. I was gonna say something but then I saw the cop car.” He paused and looked down at where Stiles was holding onto you. “And then the body was gone.” Theo’s eyes drifted back to meet Stiles’. “I don’t know who took him. I only saw what you saw, and I didn’t say anything because you didn’t.” 

You looked over to see what Stiles was thinking but then you heard the sirens. The very familiar sirens of cruisers that belonged to the Beacon Hills Sheriff Department. 

“That’s not an ambulance, is it?” Theo asked. 

Stiles shook his head and started walking away. He needed the movement to think clearly. 

“We need to get out of here,” Theo said, moving against your grip. You pushed him back again and he held out his hands in surrender. 

“I’m not leaving Josh,” you said. 

“Fine, then let’s take him,” Theo said. Stiles spun around to face him. “Someone’s stealing the bodies anyway, right? Here’s our chance to find out who.”

“Stiles, I-” you shifted uncomfortably. “He’s got a point.”

“He killed him,” Stiles said, looking between you and Josh’s body. 

“In self-defense,” Theo said. He looked close to crying. But his heartbeat was steady under your hand. “He was going to kill you and he was going to kill me.” 

“You didn’t even wait for me-” 

“If we stay-” Theo talked over you “-We’re either going to have to tell the truth or we’re going to need a pretty convincing story. It’s your choice.” He looked down at the floor for a second. “I’m not going to ask you to lie to your dad.”

You tried to get Stiles’ attention without saying anything. It was time to come clean. He looked at you for a second but you could see he’d already made up his plan.

“Don’t worry,” Stiles said. “I’ve had plenty of practice.”

“Stiles-” 

He walked over to Josh and was already pulling him up by his jacket. It was jarring to see your boyfriend picking up the dead body of the goofy kid in the back of the class. The blood that ran down his cheeks made you feel sick. 

“If you wanna leave-” Stiles was quieter when he spoke to you but he was still very clearly on edge “-I’m not gonna judge you.”

Reluctantly, you let go of Theo so that you could walk over and pick up Josh’s other side. You caught Stiles’ eye before saying, “I’m not going to leave you.” You hooked Josh’s arm around your shoulders and held him up by his waist.  

Theo took hold of Josh’s other side from Stiles. 

Whether you trusted him or not, you were in this together now.

Part 36

#stiles stilinski #stiles stilinksi imagine #stiles stilinksi x reader #stiles slow burn #mccall!reader #so close #teen wolf #teen wolf au #teen wolf rewrite

[coffeestainsandcashmere]

‘All that’s best of dark and bright’ - a Draco x Hermione x Theo story - Chapter Four

For the 0.5 people following this story on here instead of Ao3...

Chapter One here: Tumblr | Ao3

Chapter Two here: Tumblr | Ao3

Chapter Three here: Tumblr | Ao3

Hermione sat at the Gryffindor table that evening, still mulling over Malfoy’s behaviour in Charms.  

It had been her mention of the snatchers that had prompted his expression to darken and his body to fill with tension, and she still couldn’t shake the way that he’d turned quiet and openly vulnerable under Theo’s gentle touch. Over the years she’d known him at Hogwarts, Malfoy had always seemed to viscerally sharp and prickly, so volatile and yet so cold, that realising he was apparently an extremely tactile person somehow felt like she’d taken a bludger to the head. Yet again she saw a boy who’d been isolated by circumstance, and not by choice, and she resolved to put a little more effort into bridging the gaping canyon that still existed between them.  

At supper that evening, Ginny rather predictably talked the ears off everyone at their end of the table about the Holyhead Harpies and their latest nail-biter of a match against the Wimbourne Wasps. Apparently she and the rest of the Gryffindor team had been glued to the wireless all afternoon during their various free periods.  

“…and then when Helena Abbington swept in at the last minute and stopped a bludger from hitting Wilkins, she and Elcomb only pulled off a bloody Porskoff Ploy so well that the Wasps didn’t even see the quaffle drop until it was too late!” Ginny enthused around a final mouthful of goulash. “Seriously, we were all —” she caught sight of Hermione’s politely bored face midway through taking a swig of pumpkin juice to wash down the clog of goulash, and snorted so hard that juice actually came out of her nose. “I’m sorry, ‘Mione,” she laughed, and Hermione’s chest panged at the unexpected use of Ron’s nickname for her. “I’m so sorry. Oh crap, did I get you with juice?” She dug out her wand. “Oh Godric, I’m sorry - scourgify - but you should have seen your face!”  

“The complexities of quidditch manoeuvres have never failed to entertain me, Ginny,” she said flatly. “I’m sorry.” Dinners in the Weasley household had been interminable on nights when someone got going on the subject.  

“No, it’s totally fine. Just remind me to cancel your subscription to Seeker Weekly that I set up for your birthday.” At the words ‘your birthday’, her eyes went wide and she shrieked, “Oh my Gryffindor! Your birthday! It’s… It’s…”

“This Saturday,” she smiled sadly. Neither Ron nor Harry had mentioned coming down to see her, or meeting up in Hogsmeade, and she rather suspected that they might have forgotten. That stung more than she cared to admit.

From behind her, a male voice drawled, “It’s your birthday, Granger?” 

Ginny’s expression soured immediately and her gaze shifted to a spot behind Hermione as she snarled, “Piss off, Nott. And whatever you’re thinking of doing to spoil it… don’t.”

“Ginny!” Hermione exclaimed. “You’re Head Girl! You should be a little more impartial, don’t you think?”

“Not when it comes to my best friends,” she pouted. Her mistrust of anyone even tangentially associated with Voldemort’s supporters was widely known, and Theodore took a polite half-step back, palms up, dark blue eyes widely innocent. Ginny continued to glare at him, but she did at least let him speak.  

“I’m not putting in a last-minute, bulk order to Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes,” he smiled carefully. “I promise. I was just surprised you hadn't mentioned it on our patrols, that’s all. Listen, while we’re on the subject, Granger, I came over to tell you I’m going to be a bit late tonight. Can I meet you at nine up on the third floor?”

Despite his usually abysmal time-keeping, Nott had surprisingly never been late to a patrol before, so she simply nodded. It wasn’t as if anything the students could throw at her would be more dangerous or daunting than everything she’d faced in the past three years. “Sure. Meet you by the painting of the drunk monks?”

Nott’s handsome, slightly wonky smile split wide and white across his face, drawing dimples in his cheeks that made her stomach flutter, and he inclined his head. “Perfect. Thanks, Granger.”

“You can call me Hermione, you know?” she said in a bit of a rush as he turned to leave, fighting another blush.

He paused and then turned to look over his shoulder at her. “Then I insist that you stop calling me ‘Nott’,” he said with a very slight bow of his head. One of the tighter curls at the front of his chestnut brown hair flopped further forewords onto his forehead. “Call me Theo. Never Theodore.” And he shuddered visibly, his freckles standing out a little more as his cheeks paled for just a moment.  

“Right,” she said and then, because she fancied trying it out, she added, “Theo.”  

With one further and final brightening of that already blinding smile, presumably at the sound of his name on her lips, he strode away without explanation as to why he was going to be late, and Hermione turned back to see Ginny with her jaw practically dangling on the table. Even Neville looked a little stunned, as if he still didn’t believe his eyes, even after their conversation earlier that very day.

“What?” she asked, the blush finally spilling across her cheeks, hot and tingling.

“Since when are you so… ‘chummy’ with the Slytherins?” she asked acerbically.  

She blinked. “I didn’t realise it was a crime to be on good terms with one’s peers,” she sniffed defensively as everyone’s eyes seemed to bore into her. God, it reminded her of the courtroom and Malfoy’s trial. “Besides, he’s actually halfway decent, believe it or not.”

Ginny looked like she’d swallowed a bubotuber whole. “Right,” she said. “Look… Hermione, I really don’t mean to be an arse about this, but… you do remember that he’s friends with Draco Malfoy, don’t you? You know, the boy who tried to kill Dumbledore and who let a bloody horde of Death Eaters into the castle who… you know, who ultimately helped to murder my brother…” Tears sparkled in her eyes as she glared at her.

Her heart went out to the younger girl, but she wasn’t about to back down either. “I’m aware of Malfoy’s history, Ginny, and of who we all lost,” she said, trying to keep her voice from rising and quavering. “I’m not… I’m not saying they’re perfect by any means, but… I’d like to give them a chance. Both of them. Theo was cleared of any involvement, and Malfoy was tried and released on probation, remember?”

Ginny’s eyes filled with tears and her lips trembled. “Tell that to Fred!” she hissed, standing from the table and storming away.  

Hermione took a deep breath and glanced around at the audience their little tussle had gathered amongst the Gryffindors. “What?” she snapped, pushing herself to her feet and disentangling her legs from the bench. “You heard McGonagall at the start of term. And we can’t keep treating everyone like criminals.” Her heart was racing, blood pounding in her ears. Why didn’t they understand? Why did they all think it was still ‘us’ and ‘them’? “We just can’t live like that!” she said shrilly, and she stalked from the hall in Ginny’s wake, tears blurring her vision.  

She’d always hated the fact that she wore her heart on her sleeve like this, emotions always boiling right up to the surface at a moment’s notice when she wished she could remain calm and collected instead of going off like a powder keg. It was something she’d always admired about the people who tended to be sorted into Slytherin and Ravenclaw. Then again, she’d almost been sorted into Ravenclaw, so perhaps it had nothing to do with houses at all and everything to do with her own inability to control her emotions. She’d have made a terrible occlumens.

As the arched entrance to the great hall approached, still in a bit of a blur, she crashed headlong into someone who also happened to be leaving the hall at the same time. A flash of white hair registered in her peripheral vision as Malfoy of all people steadied her with one pale and surprisingly strong hand. He then released her and stepped back.  

“Granger?” he asked in a low, softly-articulated purr, taking in the sheen to her eyes and the colour in her cheeks. He shot a glance back over his shoulder at the table where several astounded Gryffindors were still staring after her, and then turned his fierce, silver gaze back to her.  

“I’m sorry, Malfoy,” she hissed, desperate not to prolong the fuss. “I’m fine. Thank you.” And with that, she fled to Gryffindor tower to curl up with a book by the common room fire until it was time for her patrol. She didn’t see Ginny again, and later that evening when she nipped up to their dorm to grab her thicker cloak to ward off the castle’s wandering drafts, the drapes of Ginny’s four-poster were pointedly shut.  

The first half of her solo rounds passed without much incident and she found the solitude strangely grounding as she paced the empty halls. Ginny’s grief at the loss of her older brother was still so raw and close to the surface, and Hermione could certainly see how a friendship - however tentative - with a Slytherin like Theodore Nott would have been anathema to her. Ginny may have been fair and a good choice for a head of school, but when it came to blood ties, the Weasleys were a fiercely loyal family. Hermione had not been present when Molly Weasley had killed Bellatrix, but to hear any of them tell it, Molly had turned into something akin to an avenging banshee to defend her daughter from the deranged Death Eater.  

Near the library she found two first years sneaking about on a dare and deducted a cautionary five points from Hufflepuff to warn them off trying anything again, and moved on towards the third floor. She met Nearly Headless Nick and paused to chat with him at length on one of the few static staircases before spotting Mrs. Norris’ tail disappearing around a corner. The satisfaction she felt at not having to be afraid of that sight boosted her mood somewhat. She moved on through the castle like a stray draft, belonging and yet still disconnected; she knew the place inside out, and yet it still felt strange to her to be back here again after everything, with barely a blast or scorch mark on the stones to speak of what had happened scarcely four months earlier.

Just as she reached the third floor and rounded a corner, she paused. A feminine giggle echoed down the hall, followed by a quickly hushed groan.

Perfect.  

Of all the things she found herself dealing with as a prefect - sleepwalking, sneaking about, dares into the Restricted Section - illicit encounters by moonlight were probably her least favourite. Everyone needed some kind of connection, some kind of… release… but rules were rules after all, and although Hogwarts was probably the safest place in the world once more, it still didn’t do to be wandering the halls at night.  

Inhaling deeply, she stepped out with the intention of interrupting them and sending them packing with twenty points from each house, when a warm, dry palm slid over her mouth from behind her. Before she could squeal or hex her assailant into the middle of last week, Theodore Nott shifted silently into her field of vision, with the finger of his other hand pressed against his smirking lips.  

“Theo,” she hissed like a disgruntled Crookshanks when he released her, and he grinned wider, dimples and all. “Merlin and Morgana! You scared me!”

With a very quiet, earthy chuckle that sent heat rushing right the way through her, he twitched his eyebrows down the corridor. “Who is it then?”

“As if I should know from one breathy little giggle!” she scoffed, still somehow keeping her voice down despite her indigence.  

He actually had extremely nice hands, she thought, trying not to look at them, and that then realisation made her cheeks flush and her heart flutter. While Malfoy had the hands of a potion master, steady and long-fingered, Theo had the hands of a scholar, all ink stained and slightly knuckly. She scolded herself for fixating on her classmates’ hands - now of all times - and rounded on him defensively.  

“Come on,” she said. “Now that you’re here, you might as well make yourself useful. And what were you doing — if I might ask — that was so much more important than your duties as a prefect?”

“Tutoring third years,” he said casually as he turned to face the length of the corridor. “Arithmancy. They’re terrible. An absolute disgrace to Slytherin. Now, come on, let’s have some fun. I reckon they’re behind that tapestry halfway down. You know, the one with that coat of arms and the randy unicorn.”

Theodore Nott tutored students?  

She froze, staring at him with a look of incredulous amusement on her face, trying to imagine him teaching. Actually, that didn’t help her situation at all and she quickly abandoned the image before it took hold. “It’s ‘rampant’, not ‘randy’,” she finally croaked, which only made him snicker softly. Of course he knew that. Flustered at having allowed herself to be goaded by him, she added, “So you’re familiar with that hiding place then, Nott? You’ve been caught there before, have you?”

“A gentleman never tells,” he said and strode off before she could stop gawping like a landed fish.  

He flicked his wand at the huge tapestry and it peeled slowly back like a theatre curtain to expose the two mortified fifth years entangled within the alcove. Mercifully they were mostly dressed, just a little rumpled, and she and Nott sent the pair on their way with only ten points from Ravenclaw and ten from Gryffindor. Hermione would never be able to look the girl in the face again.  

As the fifth years scuttled off like startled beetles, Theo turned to her and let the tapestry fall back into place. The ridiculousness of it caught up with them at the same time, and they both burst out laughing, the sound of it ringing on the cold stone of the corridor. It was a relief to laugh, she realised as her eyes watered and she felt giddy and light for the first time in weeks. She put her hand on the rough stonework of the wall beside the tapestry and let her body shake with it.  

“You’re telling me you’ve never been caught like that, Granger?” Theo said once his own laughter had died down. He still had those delicious dimples though, and his eyes glittered.  

Her face flushed hot and she remembered a few stolen kisses here and there, and once significantly more, with Viktor Krum.

Theo’s eyebrows expressed a very keen interest, and she began examining the needlework of the tapestry with sudden focus.  

“Well, well,” he said. “I’m not going to pry, but that’s a very interesting train of thought you’ve given me, Granger.”

“Oh?” she said archly, half turning to look back at him over her shoulder and daring him to continue that with flashing eyes, despite the colour in her cheeks.

“Mm.”

“And who was it that you were caught sneaking about with then?”

Theo absolutely refused to say with whom he’d been caught, and in what state of undress, and by the time they reached the end of their patrol route, she’d stopped prodding at him for answers. He was a Slytherin after all, and did not divulge secrets willingly.  

“Any plans for your birthday, Granger?” he asked conversationally as they made their way back towards the grand staircase. She didn’t have to accompany him, but hadn’t felt like returning yet. “You’ll be nineteen, right?”

A stray draft tugged at her hair and she shivered. With a shrug and a nod, she said, “No plans really. I’ll see what happens and play it by ear.”

“When is it again?” he asked, pace slowing as his eyebrows drew together into a little frown.

“Saturday.”

“No plans with Potter and Weasley?” he asked and when she shrugged again, his expression soured just a fraction more.  

As they passed by a painting of a wizard, who looked remarkably like Charlie Weasley, wrangling a Hungarian Horntail, the dragon gave a shriek that made her jump. Theo chuckled softly and she felt her insides heat up all over again at the sound of it.  

“Slytherin and Gryffindor quidditch try outs are this Saturday,” he said, sounding a little regretful, though she couldn’t figure out why.  

“You don’t even play quidditch,” she scoffed, happy to have moved away from the topic of Harry and Ron.  

“Draco does. He’s going for seeker, remember?”

“Oh, of course. He’ll probably get it too - he’s apparently quite good.”

“Mm. Prodigious. You should see him now. He trains practically every morning.”

She thought about the lone flyer she’d seen and wondered if that had been Malfoy. It seemed likely, but she didn’t bring it up. “Ginny asked me to come along, but…” she grimaced. “It’s really not my thing.”

“Really?” Theo snorted sarcastically, turning to look at her from one step ahead. He was still taller than her by a long shot, even then. “I had no idea that you didn’t enjoy quidditch, Granger. It’s not as if you’ve ranted extensively and effusively about how ridiculous you think the whole game is on a number of our patrols this term…”

She punched him on the arm and he just laughed and skipped jauntily down the staircase as he headed back to the Slytherin Dungeons for the night.

“See you tomorrow, Granger,” was all he said as he left, waving jauntily over one shoulder without looking back.  

Hermione didn’t watch him go. Instead, she turned and glared at the Horntail in the painting as she passed, and then stumped back up to Gryffindor tower, feeling oddly conflicted. Patrols weren’t supposed to be this much fun. They were supposed to be sensible and practical, like books, but… then again, books could also be a lot of fun. It had been such a long time since she’d really allowed herself to even dream about anything so flippant as her interest in the opposite sex. Theo’s dimples kept drifting back into her thoughts, and even the silver eyes of Theo’s best friend. Once or twice, when they went soft and even gentle, she’d even thought Malfoy startlingly attractive. He still looked haunted and tired, but he had lost a lot of the hard, jagged edges recently.  

With thoughts of a pair of puzzling Slytherins filling her head, she fell into bed and, for the first time in months, it didn’t even cross her mind to think about setting unnecessary wards. Her head hit the pillow and she fell deeply asleep. 

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Chapter Five

If you enjoyed, please reblog and share! I’m new to the fandom on here and appreciate all the help I can get!

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writing masterlist | Ao3

#draco #draco malfoy x theodore nott #draco malfoy x theodore nott x hermione granger #dramione #draco malfoy x hermione granger #draco x theo x hermione #hermione granger x theodore nott #harry potter fanfic #draco fanfic #draco imagines #i still have no idea how to tag stuff so that people can find it

[destinationfarstar]

Theo and Patches. (This is not the last time I will redesign Patches)

#dnd #d&d oc #d&d #dungeons and dragons #they are friends #drawing theo's tail is going to kill me one day