mxrcusflint:

i’m into it, like - two loners on the fringes of slytherin cliques™, both hella good at putting up fronts….a recipe for angst

• theo, around fifteen, at the height of the uncertainty over the dark lord, knowing his father’s shady activities, keeping his mouth shut
  
• slightly intrigued and jealous of how easy it is for zabini to brush off his mother’s rumored crimes
  
• (where there’s smoke there’s fire, right?)
• and blaise has always been an enigma to theo - haughty around the edges, arrogant, frighteningly good looking
• they don’t run in the same circles, but then again, they don’t run in any circles, don’t really need the loud notoriety draco seems to crave
• so
• it’s a late night in the library when theo talks to blaise properly for the first time, past the “morning, zabini” and the “my bathroom first, nott”
• theo’s got one book on display, a History of The Goblin Wars, but tucked within it is something nicked from the Restricted Section - it’s fooled Pince and Prefects before, so it’s a little jarring, to say the least
• when Zabini saunters over to his table, breaking protocol, puts two feet on the wooden surface and promptly goes “i need that book you’ve nicked”
• “what?”
  
• “don’t play dumb, Nott, it doesn’t suit you” is Blaise’s response, along with a cooly raised eyebrow “now - the book?”
  
• Theo weighs his options for a split second - staying on Zabini’s good side isn’t imperative, but it’s always good to keep on good terms with fellow members of Slytherin
• so Theo pulls out Moste Potent Potions begrudgingly from its hiding place, slides it across the table to Blaise, who puts it into his bag as discreetly as a street pickpocket 
• “Dare I ask?”
  
• “Let’s say i’m doing a little research for the mother,” Blaise says, with a smile that makes Theo’s blood run cold - but he composes himself well enough, grants Zabini with a roll of the eyes
  
• Theo scoffs, playing unintrigued - “You’ll want me to keep my mouth shut then”
• “Seeing as the one who stole it was you, I’d say so,” Blaise swings his long, long legs off the table and rights himself with the grace of a dancer, something Theo has always been jealous of
  
• (Zabini is as tall and thin as him, but he carries it with a straight back and proud shoulders)
  
• “And if you’re lucky,” - 
• Theo looks up to meet glittering eyes, narrowed in amusement. It has his pulse quickening, jumping underneath his skin - 
• “I might even pay you back.”