Shadow of the Prophecy

Ch. 10 - Hello, Welcome Home

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Hello, any readers out there! This chapter ends Helena's 4th(and 5th) and Theo's 6th years at Hogwarts. Things will be taking a more adult turn starting at 'Hope You Are Good to Me'. They will be in the 6th and 7th year. If that isn't your thing, then I would recommend this being the journey's end for you, as this chapter functions as a full arc in their story. 

Thanks for sticking with me!

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Theodore Sallow

Morning after Christmas Celebration

6th year

The first thing he notices upon awakening is that he is not in bed; The second is that there is a warm, soft body beneath him. It is incredibly disorienting, until a hand brushes his hair away from his forehead with a soft murmur for him to wake up.

The events of the previous night come crashing back in a heavy wave.

The celebration. Agatha. Her room. The Astronomy tower. Helena. His breakdown.

He feels sick all over again, his mind screaming that he does not want to be touched even though Helena's hands are soft and gentle and loving. Theo pushes himself up and off of her quickly, unable to look at her even as she says his name in question. His eyes catch the edge of her nightgown and stockings and it sours his stomach. Agatha, undressing, touching him, sinking down... Helena wouldn't say these things...

He squeezes his eyes shut. Why? Why can't he look at her? Why is her state of dress affecting him like this? Helena had been upset when he had not invited her to the celebration, but in his distress she had found him and she had comforted him, regardless. She had stayed with him throughout the rest of the night, even though she was undoubtedly freezing and would catch cold. She loved him. He loved her. Last night had been for her .

So why couldn't he look at her?

Theo pushes to his feet and forces himself to meet her eyes. "I'm sorry, this was classless. I shouldn't have."

His stomach twists at the hurt he sees there, and he is bounding away and up the stairs as fast as he possibly can. Helena does not need to see him be sick. She will be distraught and then she will try to touch him, and...

Theo makes it most of the way down the Astronomy tower stairs before the bile in his throat needs an outlet. He isn't sure how long he stands there and heaves, but it cannot be long. Helena will be coming down these stairs soon, and he needs to be gone before she does so.

Helena. In her nightgown. Vulnerable. Now that he is away from her, he can think a little more clearly; the lines between intimacy with Agatha and intimacy with Helena are not blurring into one quite so sharply. Theo curses; he can't leave Helena to walk down the Astronomy steps in her night clothes where any male student could happen across her and take advantage. Likewise, he knows in his state he cannot go back and assist her along to her dormitory.

He banishes the sick and casts repello inimicum from the area of the Astronomy classroom to the stairs leading to the rest of the tower. It isn't a perfect solution, but it should keep anyone with impure intentions away from the area long enough for Helena to make a safe descent to the floo flame at the classroom's entrance. At the very least, the tower was deserted when he had left it.

The emotional turmoil he is feeling will make concentrating in class difficult, so he decides to skip his classes for the day. There is nothing major that he could miss that he could not catch up on, and he could use the rest if he can get it. Theo is not certain it will be any easier to sleep in his dorm now than it was the night before, but with the day and classes in full swing, he has little choice but to attempt it. When the bell for the first period of classes begins, he goes from skipping flames around the castle to the one in the Slytherin common room.