ivy | theo nott

12

"Walk slower." Draco whined, trailing purposely behind Grace as the warmth of the castle enveloped them once again, the sun dipping behind the forest in the distance and plunging the grounds into a deeper chill than they'd endured the entire walk back from Hogsmeade. "I'm in no hurry to get to this party to be yelled at for my attire."

"Or lack there of." Grace teased, glancing once again over Draco's sweater. "She's going to make you change."

"She couldn't if she tried."

She trailed back as they neared the wall to the Slytherin common room, pausing as Draco muttered the password, stepping into the busy room and waiting for her to follow him.

"Malfoy! You'd better be headed right up to your dorm this instant-"

"Save it, Greengrass." He groaned, shooting Grace a glare when he heard her laughter beside him.

"Why can't you just match Grace? Look at her!" She tugged the blonde's arm and pulled her from Draco's side easily. "You're not getting her back until you've changed."

"Daph, I'm looking at nearly two dozen people in this room who aren't wearing-"

"Well, I can't control the entire house, Malfoy. Just you." She grinned, leading Grace towards the familiar set of couches that had been claimed by Blaise, Enzo, Crabbe, Goyle and Astoria. While Crabbe and Goyle were still dressed in their signature black outfits at the edge of the group, muttering beneath their breaths to one another, Blaise was wearing a red shirt and Enzo and Astoria wore nearly matching pink sweaters, though Grace couldn't help but notice how tight Astoria's was before pulling her eyes away from the brunette.

"Grace!" Enzo's eyes lit up as he spotted her, sinking into her seat beside Daphne. "Finally! We've all been itching to hear how your date went." He grinned and Blaise sighed, rubbing two fingers along the edge of his temple.

Astoria's eyes flickered from Lorenzo onto Grace before puling her gaze back to her heels, tapping quickly against the green rug at their feet.

"Enzo." Daphne warned, though her own lips were curled into a smile.

"It wasn't a date."

"Right. Just on Valentines Day. With your fiancé." No one spoke, all eyes flashing between the Slytherin and the Ravenclaw. "It's crazy, actually... You and Draco. We all had our bets on Theo-"

"Lorenzo." Blaise spoke up now, eyes wide as he glared at the brunette beside him.

"Theo?" Grace asked, searching Enzo's face for a second before letting her gaze drift over the room, spotting Theodore at once. He had obviously followed Daphne's instructions as well, a deep maroon sweater fell loosely above perfectly tailored black pants as he leaned against the wall beside a very pretty older student Grace had never seen before.

"What!" Enzo muttered, moving his chair a bit farther from Blaise's reach as if he expected to get smacked. Grace pulled her eyes from Theo, glancing around the group and noticing everyone was holding heart-shaped pink glasses besides her.

"I'm going to get a drink... Anyone need anything?" She offered, stepping slowly around the couch as everyone shook their heads. She wasn't sure exactly where the drinks were, but she had seen the boys disappear towards the far end of the common room on enough occasions to guess the general direction.

"Abbott!" A new voice called over the crowd, pushing in between groups of people until the tall brunette she recognized from New Years Eve stood at her side. "Hi."

"Hi..." She tried for a smile, shuffling through her memory to try to come up with his name.

"I'm Adrian... Pucey. We sort of met at Malfoy's party on New Years Eve."