four

THEODORE HAD AN ARM SLUNG AROUND ARABELLA'S SHOULDER, as the girl now struggled under the weight of her own satchel, plus Theodore's, as well as the weight of the boy (who looked a lot lighter than he actually was).

"How could you forget the stairs move?" Arabella asked, annoyed at the Slytherin who'd already been to see Madame Pomfrey, who'd cooed at him, "You're fine, deary." She'd handed him a cherry-flavored sucker and pinched his cheek like he was four years old, before sending them off.

"Want some?" Theodore asked, offering the bright-red candy to Arabella, who shook her head in annoyance. "Pomfrey said you're fine, Nott. I don't know why you insist on being carried." She said, ignoring the strange looks the unlikely duo were receiving from passing students. Theodore, clearly, was enjoying the attention, as well as the sucker in his mouth.

"Matt told me these were good for quitting smoking. I reckon he's right." Theodore said, ignoring Bella's grumbles of annoyance. "Speaking of, since we're late for Potions already, might as well just skip, right? Wanna go have a smoke in the owlery?" He asked, and Bella stopped in her tracks, dropping both their bags, and shoving Theodore off of her.

Hopping on his right leg, he inhaled sharply, a pained look on his face.

"You told me you twisted your right foot." She corrected him. He seamlessly switched feet, now hopping on his left. Arabella sighed, rolling her eyes as she rolled a hand over her forehead. "You're a bloody idiot, Theodore." She mumbled. "And I'm not helping you up five flights of stairs because of your fake injury, so you can go smoke in the owlery and give all those poor birds lung cancer." She said, picking up her bag only, and shoving past Theodore. He watched her walk away, before leaning down and grabbing his bag.

He caught up with her with ease. "Oh, look. A miracle." She said dryly, looking over at him. Now seemingly uninjured, he walked alongside her, his hands folded together behind his back. The corner of his lip tilted upwards, and as the duo walked through the outdoor tunnel connecting two sections of the castle, he reached deep into his pockets, before pulling out a lighter and cigarette.

He lit the lighter, cupping his hand to block the wind from the flame. Touching it expertly to the tip of his cigarette, he inhaled the smelly smoke, before exhaling.

"You're not seriously smoking right now." Arabella challenged, cocking her hip as she stared him down. His stormy blue eyes searched hers, and he narrowed them momentarily. "You're making me waste a perfectly good cigarette, you know." He said, his voice muffled by the rolled paper in between his lips.

She stared at him expectantly.

He sighed, before taking the cigarette out of his mouth and throwing it to the floor, stepping out the flame with his shoe. Bella cleared her throat, still staring with wide green eyes.

He stared back at her, and the two stood there for about a minute.

Theodore finally gave in, and with another sigh, he bent over, picking his cigarette off the floor and tucking it into his pocket.

Arabella smiled, finally content before walking off again.

"You know, you're really ruining my bad boy rep right now, Brooks." Theodore said, as Arabella strolled into Snape's classroom, Theodore trailing in behind her. "I can only hope that no one just saw me pick up trash off the floor." He added quietly.

They were at least half an hour late, and the entire classroom shifted in their seats to get a glance at the two walking in together.

Ron glowered in his seat, and the Slytherin table cocked their heads, following the duo's arrival all the way to the only empty table in the back corner of the classroom.

"Mr. Nott. Ms. Brooks. Would the two of you like to explain to me, why you've just walked into class-" Professor Snape snapped back the sleeve of his long, black robes. Glancing down to check the time, "-35 minutes late?" He finished.

Arabella swallowed nervously, trying to think of a decent explanation for all the cumulative events that had happened in the course of the last half hour.

But before she could say anything, Theodore spoke up.

"It was my fault, Professor. I, uh, fell down the stairs. Brooks here was just taking me to and from the infirmary." He admitted sheepishly, as the entire classroom erupted into laughter. Ron and Harry cackled, slapping each other in amusement, and Bella could've sworn she saw the slightest hint of a smile on Snape's pale face, before it quickly disappeared.

"Silence." The room quieted down almost immediately, and Snape, seemingly satisfied with Theo's answer, resumed his lesson on Amortentia.

Much to everyone's disappointment, today was just the introduction to the lengthy module of love potions. The actual brewing didn't begin until the following week.

To celebrate the first month of classes being over, the sixth and seventh years were throwing a party in the Room of Requirement. Apparently Pansy Parkinson and Blaise Zabini had happened upon it at just the right time, and according to Ginny, "everyone was invited."

Arabella finished up her makeup with some lip gloss, before handing it off to Ginny, who applied it with care. Ginny then tried handing it to Hermione, who politely declined. It took Ginny, the Patel sisters, Arabella, AND Neville to convince Hermione to join in on the festivities tonight.

Arabella had forced her into a nice sundress, but Hermione refused to let anyone touch her face or her hair. It wasn't like she needed it anyway.

"I'm so excited. Maybe I'll see Cedric." Ginny gushed, making Bella roll her eyes as she tightened the straps of her white stilettos. "Just don't let Potter see you two talking. I don't want to have another hour long debrief after the party." She grumbled quietly, tucking her hair behind her ears before checking her reflection in the mirror.

These inter-house parties were the perfect occasion to wear the slutty dresses she bought after her fifth-year "break-up" with her situationship. The tight, iridescent blue dress was a perfect party dress, and she'd been waiting for the perfect moment to wear it.

Tossing her hair over her shoulder, she uttered a simple incantation her half-Veela mother taught her, that made her smell like strawberries and vanilla.

"You guys ready?"

-

Blaise Zabini was escorting people to and from the Room of Requirement, as it wouldn't reveal itself to just anyone. The girls waited in front of the Blue Knight painting on the seventh floor, just like they'd heard from other partygoers who'd received instruction from the Slytherins. The air was cold at night now in October, and Arabella shivered slightly. Just as she started to wish she'd brought something to cover up a little more, Blaise emerged from behind them, making them jump.

"Perfect timing." Arabella said appreciatively, following the tall Slytherin boy, who held out his arms for Arabella and Parvati, the only two girls who'd chosen to wear heels tonight. He shot her a flirty grin, before saluting goofily to the knight in the portrait behind them. Ginny giggled when the knight saluted back. Arabella linked her arm through his, whispering a quiet gratitude, while Parvati chose to struggle across the rough cobblestone that made up the corridor to the room.

The hallway was almost pitch black, most likely in order to enforce the strict curfew that had started roughly an hour ago. The only light they had was that of the full moon, which shone in through the spare number of windows in the hallways.

The air was stale and silent, other than the rhythmic steps of the sixth-years. "When you get in there, make sure to look for Draco. He makes the best drinks." Blaise hinted to Arabella, who nodded with a small smile.

The group came to a stop in front of a door that was small enough to look like it led to a broom closet.

Blaise reached up, knocking four times and the door was opened from the inside by Victor Crabbe. He ushered them in, and they were met with warm air, blaring music, and the smell of hard liquor.

Almost immediately, Arabella spotted Harry and Ron.

Ron hadn't even bothered to change out of his robes, his pale, freckled face already bright red from intoxication. Harry's house tie was tightly tied around his forehead, pushing his hair back and revealing his scar. His glasses were crooked on his nose, laughing at something Seamus said.

"You're here! Finally, thought you guys weren't coming." Ron shouted over the music, his arm slung around Harry as he dragged the latter towards the group of girls.

Arabella opened her mouth to answer, but remembered she was giving him the silent treatment. Turning away from the group, she walked towards the bar, where Draco was standing in front of a fully stocked liquor cabinet.

"The Room of Requirement never ceases to impress, huh?" She yelled over the music to Draco, who looked down at her. "Blaise told me that you're quite the bartender." She yelled, as Draco cocked an eyebrow. "What do you drink?" He asked.

Arabella cocked her head. "Anything other than Firewhisky. I have bad memories from it shooting out my nose one time." She said, finally getting a smile out of the pale, blond Slytherin.

"I'm not joking. Shot straight out and burned like a motherfucker. I couldn't smell anything for weeks. Not even Ron's farts after pot roast nights." She went on, as Draco nodded, silently shaking her drink as he listened to her blabber incoherently.

"Are you already drunk?" He asked suddenly, completely genuine and innocent in curiosity. Arabella shot him a look, and he shut up again, taking her silence and stare as a "no."

Pouring a rosy-colored drink into a tall glass, he garnished it with hibiscus and mint leaves before sliding it over the bar. "Thanks." She said, picking it up and examining it. It glittered under the dim, green lighting of the room, and she took a sip, her eyes widening at the lovely, floral taste. It warmed her stomach, slightly burning her throat on the way down.

"Holy shit, Malfoy. I'd tip you but I didn't bring any money." She joked, lightly slapping him on the arm. He gave her a soft smile, but it didn't reach his eyes. "I'll be back for more." She promised over the music, before flouncing off in search for her friends.

As Arabella wandered off into the direction of Ron's booming voice, singing along to the words of "Hips Don't Lie", she made eye contact with Mattheo Riddle. He was standing with Theodore and Lorenzo, the trio smoking cigarettes in a corner and blowing the smoke outside an ajar window. Well, Mattheo and Theodore were smoking.

Lorenzo was pretending to smoke out of a plastic straw.

His eyes widened when he saw Arabella, freaking out as he waved her over. "Oi, Brooks! Come here." He yelled, pushing past a group of Hufflepuffs that were trying to form a conga line. Leading Bella to the window, her eyebrows furrowed when she got a whiff of the familiar smell. They were not smoking cigarettes.

If the smell wasn't enough, Theodore and Mattheo's glazed eyes confirmed her suspicions.

She coughed dramatically, putting a smirk on Theodore's face as he threw a heavy arm around her shoulders. "It's my best friend, you guys. Say hi." He grinned, before taking Bella's drink out of her hands, polishing it off and setting down the empty glass on the windowsill.

Arabella shoved him off, complaining about the smell before retreating back to Lorenzo, who gave her a good-natured hug. "Your best friend, Nott? I beg to differ." Lorenzo shouted, before his attention was taken by Crabbe, who ran up to the trio, panting hard.

"McLaggen is trying to get in." He exhaled breathily, pointing to Blaise, who stood at the door, waving them over with an annoyed look on his face.

Theodore groaned, putting out his joint on the stone of the wall, before tucking it carefully behind his ear. "We'll be back." Lorenzo told Arabella, who nodded.

Mattheo moved to join Theodore and Lorenzo, pushing off of the wall, but they immediately stopped him. "Whoa, slow your roll Riddle." Lorenzo said.

"We're not trying to get the party shut down because of your angry ass. We'll deal with him." Theodore said, pushing him back gently. "Yeah, and your nose just got unbandaged. Can you watch him Brooks? I promise he's a lot sweeter when he's high." Lorenzo said, walking backwards as he pointed to the duo, who stood beside each other awkwardly.

"Keep an eye on him!"

Arabella shifted her weight to her left, wrapping an arm around her torso. She could feel Mattheo looking at her, but too nervous to meet his gaze, she chose to ignore his presence.

"Wanna see something cool?"