「 LET'S DANCE 」

BLAISE HAD LEFT THE DORMS long ago, but Theo stalled. Especially after the talk with Luna yesterday, he found it particularly difficult to talk to Blaise or even look at him. After Blaise was done getting ready for the party, Theo had insisted that he wait for him in the common room. Blaise never took much time to get dressed up, but he somehow always looked better than anyone else in the vicinity.

Theo sat on his bed, absentmindedly pulling at the hem of his shirt. Should I tell him? he asked himself. Luna was confident that he should. But she was Luna and he was not. He could not jump to a decision without thinking and overthinking about the consequences countless times until he eventually ended up ditching everything down the drain.

Maybe, he thought, for once he should shut his head and simply follow his instincts.

Looking over his shoulder to check that Blaise really had left the dorm, he reached a hand under his pillow and extracted a wrinkled sheet of parchment, smoothing it out under his fingers. The letter had arrived this afternoon from his father. He was thankful that it hadn't come during breakfast with the morning mail, for after reading through it, he felt no desire to share it with anyone, least of all Blaise. His hands shook as his fingers tightened around the edges of the paper.

Dear Theo, it read.

As you know we have duties to attend to for the Dark Lord. It would be best if you stayed back at Hogwarts for the holidays. I believe you will come to much better use if you continue with your responsibilities for the Carrows and keep an eye on the troublemakers for them.

Best wishes,

Father

Theo crumpled the sheet of paper and tossed it into his trunk, slamming the lid shut. He had hoped to be in a good mood for the party, but his father had swooped in at the right moment to ruin it for him. He wasn't particularly looking forward to going home, nor did he miss his father. But he was happy to be let out of the castle for once, and now he would have to stay here over the Christmas holidays and run errands for the Carrows, more so because most of the Inquisitorial Squad would be going home.

Taking deep, heavy breaths, Theo forced himself to his feet and pulled on a woolly black jumper over his head. He brushed his hair, paying no particular attention to what he was doing. He didn't even realise that the door to the dorms had opened and jumped when he heard someone flopping down on one of the beds with a dramatic sigh.

It was Draco.

His father's letter pushed momentarily out of his mind, Theo smiled as he made his way over to his dormmate. "Heard you wanted to sneak into the party with Astoria?" he teased.

"Don't bother me." Draco scowled. "Go and enjoy your party."

"Hey, the party is stupid. There are better places to go on a date."

He saw Draco redden. "We are not dating," he muttered.

Theo grinned as he pulled the pillow from under his head and smacked it over his face. Draco glared daggers at him, ready to pounce. "Don't give me that bullshit, Malfoy. Listen, half the castle will be mourning about not being invited to the party. Use this opportunity to take Astoria somewhere."

Draco scoffed, looking at him like he had lost his mind. "Where? We aren't even allowed to go to the grounds." He earned another smack in the head.

"You don't have to go outside. This castle is huge. I'm sure you will find a place."

"I'm sure Daphne will be following us everywhere."

Theo nudged him on the shoulder. "That's enough moping. Put on something nice and get out."

He found Blaise in the common room. He sat on one of the sofas, gazing intently into the dying embers of the fire. Self-consciously fixing his cloak for the thousandth time, Theo crossed over to him, feeling his breath hitch in his throat as Blaise's face came into sight, glowing green as shadows darted around his high cheekbones.

Blaise looked up as he neared. With an inconspicuous smile, he rose to his feet and grazed his eyes all over him. Theo suddenly felt naked. Blaise often gave off the impression that he could look through him and see everything that went through his mind. He didn't want him to see the knot that had formed on his chest due to his father's letter. He wished he would look away.

"What took you so long?" he asked. "Is Draco still pining over Astoria?"

Theo let out a small laugh. He felt calm all of a sudden. "You bet he is."

Blaise smiled and raised his hands to his neck. Theo jerked back but Blaise merely smoothed his collar between his fingers. "Well, let's get going."

Theo had never been to Slughorn's office, but one look and he could tell that it was heavily enchanted, for surely his office couldn't be as large as it was, consisting of two separate rooms, one of them with a table at the centre laden with a vast assortment of food and several chairs scattered around; the other with colourful lights flashing from the ceiling - clearly the dance floor.

He nervously scooted close to Blaise, fighting the urge to link their arms together. Music floated in from all corners of the office though he was unable to figure out exactly where it was coming from. As they entered the office and closed the door behind them, Professor Slughorn appeared enthusiastically out of nowhere, arms wide open as though to hug them.

"Blaise, m'boy!" he greeted in a loud, booming voice. "You're a little late, I'm afraid. Thank Merlin we are not in class now, eh?" He winked in his direction.

Theo suppressed a laugh, watching in amusement as Blaise forced a smile and shook the Professor's hand.

"Well, come in, my boy, come in." He placed a gentle hand around Blaise's shoulders and urged him inside, all the while ignoring Theo completely, as though he wasn't there at all. "Enjoy the party."

Blaise wrenched himself out of Slughorn's arms and gripped Theo's elbow. Weaving through the crowd, he dragged him across the dance floor and took him to the other side, where they each grabbed a chair and settled down. Theo sent a teasing smile in his direction.

"He seems to really like you, Blaise. Why don't you invite him to dance?"

Blaise didn't respond immediately. He leaned in to take two large brownies from the table, offering one to Theo. "Shut up and eat."

They were certainly not the last ones to come to the party, for even several minutes after they had settled down, Theo noticed more students coming into the office. Slughorn leapt in front of each of them before they could even cross the threshold, shaking their hands vigorously or patting their backs. Theo had the vague suspicion that the purpose of this enthusiastic greeting was to ensure that no nonmember of the Slug Club would come to the party without being accompanied by a member.

He finished the brownie slowly, looking around at the people talking and dancing. Blaise's silent presence was very prominent beside him but he kept himself from looking in his direction. When the brownie had fully been devoured, he rubbed his hands together to let the crumbs fall to the floor, before finally looking at Blaise.

He was staring at him.

Embarrassed, he quickly looked away. But Blaise moved his chair closer and leaned toward him. "Theo? Are you okay?"

He felt heat rush to his cheeks. With the slow music sounding in his ears and the close proximity of Blaise, he suddenly found it difficult to breathe. He began to stutter. "Su-sure. Why?"

"You seem flushed. And you're awfully quiet."

Theo ran his tongue over his lips. Luna's words ran through his mind. You should tell Blaise. Should he really? He was afraid of how Blaise would react. It seemed like such a perfect time and place to confess your feelings to someone - the music, the dim but colourful lights - they even sat so close together. But then again, there were people around. Although he doubted they would be much interested in what they were talking about, he wasn't sure Blaise would be very pleased if he embarrassed him in front of so many people.

"Theo!"

He jumped in his seat as Blaise flicked his ear. He scowled. "That hurt, Blaise!"

"I'm sorry." He didn't sound very sorry. "What's up with you? Do you want to go back to the common room?"

He shook his head. "No, I'm fine," he stated flatly. Any desire to confess to Blaise was blown out in an instant. His ear really hurt. "Pass me a brownie."

"No."

He looked at his best friend quizzically. Blaise stared defiantly back. Theo was the first to drop his gaze. "Whatever," he muttered and looked away, crossing his arms over his chest. He wanted to go back to the common room. He began to wish he hadn't come here at all.

Blaise stood. "Come on," he said, holding out a hand. "Let's dance."

Theo was dumbstruck. Was he serious? "Um - what?"

Blaise nudged him impatiently. "Just say yes or no. Don't leave me hanging."

But Theo was unable to say anything at all. He stared at Blaise, heart racing, mouth dry. Did he really want to dance with him? In front of all of those people?

He wanted to say no, but really, deep down he wished to say yes. He wanted to hold his arm and spin around the dance floor with him. He wanted the feel of Blaise's firm grip on him. He wanted to press his face into his shoulder and let the world melt around them.

Blaise seemed to read his thoughts for he held his arms and gently pulled him to his feet. "Come on. It's okay." His voice was soft and warm.

"People are going to stare."

"Let them."

His heart raced uncontrollably in his chest. His back was stiff, shoulders tight. Blaise rubbed his arms gently, smiling. "Don't be shy. I know you've danced with plenty of girls in all your extravagant pureblood parties."

Theo glared at him, though his heart fluttered. "You're not a girl," he complained, pushing him playfully.

But the smile dropped from Blaise's face. "Do you have a problem with that?"

Theo stared. His eyes were an inscrutably blank. How he wished he could read through those eyes as easily as Blaise could read through him. It was kind of unfair. Nevertheless, he shook his head. And as Blaise pulled him toward the dance floor, he gave in and allowed the music to take control of their movements.

He felt terribly self-conscious. He wished he could be as confident as Blaise was, but the other students moving past them made it difficult for him to fully enjoy the dance. It took him well over fifteen minutes to realise that the rest of them were almost as self-conscious as he was to pay any real attention to who was dancing with whom. In the end, he let the surroundings fade into a singular nothingness as he focused on the boy next to him.

They were pressed close together, closer than they had ever been. Theo, for the first time, began to notice certain features about Blaise, wondering how he could have missed those before. He noticed how his nose was jutted slightly to the left, bringing an odd asymmetry to his face. He noticed how long his eyelashes were, and he blushed suddenly as the word beautiful crossed his mind. Over the years, he had described his best friend as stunning, as handsome, or even as mesmerising - indeed, he had even uttered those words aloud in front of Blaise, as a playfully offhand or a passing comment, and it was never embarrassing, for Blaise himself acknowledged the truth of it. But somehow the word beautiful imposed a different meaning. Something wholesome and intimate and, well, embarrassing. Theo decided he would rather get shot by a hundred curses than utter the word in front of him.

Several hours later, Theo was back in the dorms. He had drawn the curtains around his fourposter bed, having no desire to face Blaise until next morning for he was sure that if he saw him now, he would instantly know the deepest secrets of his heart. Outside, he could hear shuffling as Blaise packed his trunk.

The sound of the lid closing was heard, followed by his voice. "Theo, you haven't packed your trunk."

Something heavy dropped on his stomach. All the drunken giddiness from the party popped like a balloon as his father's letter pushed its way to his memory. He drew the blanket close around him, trying to think of something to say. But Blaise didn't seem to need an answer.

"You don't have to get up," he said, for once, not reading him correctly. "I'll pack it for you."

The shuffling began once again. He considered for a moment whether to let him do it, but in the end, he decided to stop him. "Blaise, I'm not going home."

There was an immediate silence. Then the curtains were pushed aside and Blaise's face loomed into view. "What do you mean?"

"Meaning I'm staying at Hogwarts for the holidays."

Blaise, of course, wasn't convinced. He raised an eyebrow. "You mean you are willingly going to stay here with the Carrows and Snape?"

He shrugged.

"Did your father tell you not to go home?"

A sharp pang twisted in his gut. His mouth opened to say no but he stopped himself. What was the point?

Blaise sat next to him. "Forget about that bastard," he stated firmly. Theo couldn't help but smile at the term of endearment given to his loving father. "Come and stay with us. Corben would love to have you."

And what about you, Blaise?

Out loud, he began an immediate protest. Wherever he spent the holidays, Theo was sure Blaise's house was the last place he wanted to be. As much as he loved his best friend, he couldn't imagine spending the Christmas holiday with him. At least not before he had let him know his feelings for him.

Blaise, of course, wasn't convinced with the weak excuses he had sprung up on the spot. But he didn't question him further. With a sigh, he stood and gathered up the clothes sprawled all over the floor.

"Well, I'm packing your trunk anyway," he said in a tone that it made it clear that he wasn't going to hear any more protests. "In case you change your mind."