shades of cool | theo nott

55 || romeo o romeo

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"𝙞 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙚, 𝙩𝙤𝙣𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙡𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨"
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Vera glanced out of the train window as it screeched slowly to a stop. Gone were the rolling snow-covered hills, because they had finally made it to the station.

Draco had decided to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas, something no one imagined he would ever do. His reasoning was that he didn't want to celebrate Christmas at home when his dad wasn't there.

Vera suspected that it was something else entirely, but she nodded and decided that she had to go visit Cissy. How could she let her be entirely alone during the holidays?

"Darling," Theo prompted, grabbing her trunk and tilting his head towards the exit. Vera smiled, tightening her white scarf around her neck as she braced herself for the chill.

Vera's father was at work all day, in meetings with paperwork and presentations he couldn't get out of, and her mother was at a holiday charity gala, so they had to get home themselves.

When the couple finally got home, Vera grinned at the decorations her mother had put up. "Look, Theo, it's so festive in here!" She gestured towards the tinsel on the twirling staircases, the garlands, holly, and a huge Christmas tree in the living room.

Theo set their bags down, chuckling. "I can see that. And..." He shook his head, grimacing. "I can see that one of your Christmas gifts came early."

"It's fine, just wrap it. I won't look." Vera promised, tying her hair into a braid.

"I don't know... listen, go upstairs, and I'll figure out something, and you just freshen up, okay?" Theo said, starting to look nervous.

"Alright, Theo, it's okay." She laughed softly at his reaction. "I'm going." Vera said pointedly.

She went into her room, changed into pajamas, and freshened up her face. The room was just as she'd left it.

"You can come down now!" Theo shouted from upstairs.

Vera descended the stairs, crossing her arms in amusement. She continued to admire the decorations and charmed the grand piano in the foyer to play some carols. "Oh my Merlin, I love Christmas so." She sighed happily. "What's the big surprise?"

"Close your eyes, Miss Saltori," Theo prompted as she reached the bottom of the stairs, placing a warm hand over Vera's eyes. "And no peeking. I can feel your eyelashes tickling my hand," he added, making Vera giggle as she complied. "Take a seat. A lucky girl is getting her Christmas present early this year."

"Hurry," Vera said, bouncing her knee impatiently. "I'm turning gray here."

"And what happened to that beautiful Christmas spirit you had?" Theo joked, causing Vera to sigh dramatically.

"Dwindling by the second." She admitted with a half-grin.

"Just hold out your hands," he instructed, smiling widely as she obediently cupped her hands and held them out. Carefully, he placed the kitten—a Kneazle crossed with a Persian longhair—that he had gotten with his girlfriend into her hands. "Okay... open your eyes."