New Love & Old Friends

Chapter 2

Chloe did not know who she was expecting to come walking through that door, but it definitely wasn't Theodora Wilde. She watched as the other girl looked down and made her way to a desk. She quickly turned back around, still trying to catch her breath from running all the way from the west end of the castle, and attempted to slow her mind from its racing thoughts.

The two definitely weren't friends, and even the word acquaintances felt a little generous. Chloe didn't even think she'd ever heard Theodora speak! Nothing was wrong between them, and they'd never actually had a problem with each other, they simply just didn't click. They had different friends, different houses, and different styles, not to mention the fact that Theodora came from a notorious family of Death Eaters. Theodora seemed different though, and definitely didn't give off a murderous dark wizard vibe.

That said, Chloe was still incredibly intimidated by her, and quite honestly thought she was one of the coolest people in their year. Theodora walked around with confidence, had perfect friends, and always seemed to be completely and utterly herself, not to mention that she was drop dead gorgeous. Chloe has always had issues with self love and confidence, so when she saw people like Theodora, she immediately got self conscious.

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There was an awkward weight in the room as Chloe and Theodora made eye contact. Theo broke her stare and moved her gaze to the hard, stone floor as she walked in and found an open desk a couple of rows behind and across the main walkway from Chloe. She let her bag slide off her shoulder, but caught it before it hit the ground and placed it haphazardly on the desk in front of her. She opened it, and as she did she snuck a quick glance at Chloe. She noticed that her peer looked a bit disheveled, seeming like she'd been rushed or in a hurry. She had never spoken to Chloe, but she had seen her around in the hallways and she really admired everything about her, though she would never admit it.

Theo always noticed how Chloe dressed, her friends, and her personality in general, not to mention how pretty she found her. In short, Chloe was everything Theo wanted to be: friendly, easy going, and people weren't afraid of Chloe like they were of Theo. As much as she admired her thought Theo thought Chloe was most likely stuck up and rude. She didn't necessarily hate herself, she just didn't like the cards she'd been played by the universe. To put it simply, her family life was a little complicated.

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The two girls were pulled out of their thoughts by Professor Snape's monotone voice.

"Listen up I will only explain this once..." Neither of the girls were really listening; they both had heard the protocol a million times whether it was during a detention or during class as a punishment for no one getting a potion down correctly.

"...understood?" Snape asked rhetorically, dragging out his vowels as usual. Both girls nodded and he gave them a glaring look before dramatically walking out the classroom, his robes flying behind him. The girls unhappily started the tedious task of cleaning the cauldrons, quietly working with the occasional clink of the tools being set down on the cold, stone tables. They sat there in an awkward silence, Chloe not knowing if she should start a conversation and Theo hoping to god she wouldn't have to talk. Chloe slowly turned to sneak a glance at the Slytherin, and Theo tensed up feeling the Hufflepuff's careful eyes watching her curiously.

"Well, this sucks." Chloe said blankly, hoping to get some kind of reaction, but to no avail. Both girls cringed slightly at the now even more awkward atmosphere. Chloe wrinkled her nose, making a face that was visually cursing herself for saying anything, but she couldn't just leave it be now.

"Erm...I'm Chloe by the way." She said picking up her cauldron and placing it on the desk behind her so she could face her quiet detention buddy. Theo sighed, knowing she couldn't avoid a conversation now.

"Theodora." she muttered blankly in response.

"That's a pretty name." Chloe responded sincerely, and Theodora offered a small awkward smile, to which more silence set into place. After a couple more moments of awkwardness, Chloe tried again.

"So, what're you in for?" Chloe said jokingly. She could see Theo's hard exterior break slightly as she cracked a small smile at her question. She quickly pulled herself together and looked up to meet Chloe's shyly smiling face.

"I actually didn't do anything..."

"No shit, really? Me too!" Chloe expressed enthusiastically, "Alright, so what happened then?"

"My friend was dumb enough to try and sneak into another houses' common room. Can you believe it? It was so dumb and reckless." Theo vented, shaking her head to herself as she looked down into her half-cleaned cauldron.

Chloe couldn't contain her laughter over Theo's obvious discontent for incautious rule breaking.

"What?" Theo questioned casually and looked at Chloe with a confused look on her soft features.

"It's just kinda funny seeing as that same reckless behavior is what got me here." Chloe giggled and stated with a dramatic emphasis on the word reckless. Theo's face went bright red and she quickly looked back down at her cauldron.

"Did I say 'reckless'...?" she laughed nervously, "that's not what I meant—"

"Theodora!" Chloe eagerly interrupted, "don't worry about it, I was only joking with you! Honestly, it was pretty reckless, and I should definitely know better by now. It was mainly my idiot friend's fault, though. I mean really, is it that hard to read a ma—" her final word trailed off a bit, as Chloe remembered that the Marauder's Map was a secret, and that she didn't know Theodora well enough to expose their stolen magical object just yet. Thankfully, Theo didn't seem to notice, and instead she smiled smally, grateful Chloe wasn't offended by her words. "So, looks like we're just two innocent people who got stuck in detention with Snape, huh?"

"Looks like it!" Chloe replied, smirking kindly. She was thankful that they were finally talking, and her nerves were beginning to ease as she continued to scrub at the inside of a beaker.

Theo did the same, finishing with her initial cauldron and moving on to the next. This one was covered in what looked to be a failed Shrinking Solution, and had a slimy, thick, and dark orange mucky substance covering it completely. The two girls continued cleaning, while chatting about trivial things like what students were dating who, and how irritating Snape was. The more they spoke, the more comfortable they became with each other, and the more their initial judgements faded away. Chloe decided that there was no way her new Slytherin friend could be from a family of Death Eaters, and Theo thought there was no possible way this Hufflepuff could be as stuck up and rude as she thought.

The detention that Theo and Chloe had both so passionately dreaded flew by ridiculously fast, and before they knew it, Professor Snape reentered the classroom and told them it was time for them to leave, and that they'd completed their three hour punishment.

Chloe was smiling subtly as she packed up her things, thinking about the beginning of this new unlikely friendship. Theo was doing the same, and was honestly quite shocked that the two of them got along as well as they did. Theo found herself waiting for her new companion at the door, and the two walked out together. They left the classroom, and faced each other.

"This is where we part, huh?" Chloe said in an almost sad kind of tone.

"I guess so." Theodora responded, feeling just as upset over the idea that the pair may never talk again.

Hoping she'd be comfortable with her idea, Chloe wishfully posed her question, "Hey...so seeing as it's almost the end of the school year, and we won't get the chance to talk as much, we should maybe write to each other over the summer..?"

Theo found it hard to contain her excitement and shock at the idea that someone other than Aurora wanted to write her. "Yes!" She blurted out. "Oh—uh, um, I mean yes. That would be nice."

"Great!" Chloe smiled at Theo's enthusiasm, "I'll give you my address later, okay?"

"Okay, sounds good!"

"See you around then, Theodora!" Chloe called as she began to walk her respective way.

"Oh wait, Chloe!" Theodora called for Chloe to turn around quickly.

"You can call me Theo," she paused for a moment, "my friend calls me Theo."