My childhood spat out the monster that you see

"Leaving doesn’t make me weak!” She replied at once, as if he had done her a great injustice. The affection she had felt for him, while still there, was mixed with irritation at his condescending tone. “It makes me strong enough to know what’s best for me, and given the circumstances, this was the best solution.”

Theodore found himself surprised that he cared about whether she was okay, and for a moment he worried that she had left because of something that oaf McLaggen had done. What terrified him were the thoughts of what he would do to the oaf if he had hurt Daphne. He shook his head lightly to get rid of the thoughts before focusing once more on the women in front of him. "McLaggen must have noticed your absence, come up with a good excuse?" 

"Who’s up for a drink?"

"What is it with everyone's sudden need to be drunk, always."

Theodore lifted his shoulders lightly in a soft shrug before letting them drop. His gaze drifted from his fingers that were tapping against the wooden table to her cool gaze. He had never been at the receiving end of one her glare, and he understood the chill that others would have gotten. She was a force to be reckoned with. For Theodore this was typically his sign to leave, to never speak to a women again but something kept him seated. Maybe he was enjoying this different side of Daphne, or maybe he just wanted to be in her presence whether she was mad or not didn't matter to him much.

"Theodore Nott, what a surprise. Low class? You’d know all about that.” Daphne retorted with a scoff, referring to the fact that Theo himself stood in the same Muggle cafe as her.

"Don't be rude." He mused as he took a seat across from her, his steely expression gazing over her lightly. She looked exquisite, though that was of no surprise, and she stood out among the muggles frequenting the cafe. If she was hiding, she was doing a rather poor job of it. He wanted to tease her about the location, to tempt her that she was waiting for him, but bit back his tongue.

Vanishing Act | Daphne & Theodore

Theodore Nott had been passing the two weeks since his argument -- was it really an argument, or a disagreement, or... well he wasn't quite sure what it was, alone. There hadn't been any notable one night stands or continued affairs and so he had passed the time reading and writing. 

"Of course, yes. Have you been talking to my sister lately?" She asked, putting her hands awkwardly in her cloak’s pockets. "Well, partly happy, yes."

Theodore narrowed his eyes slightly, he had assumed Daphne would tell Astoria about what was going on between them, though he was relieved that she hadn't. "I see her on occasion. Had lunch with her a few weeks ago." He muttered before arching an eyebrow, "Partly?"

"That’s quite a bit of an attitude for someone with a tangible bitterness around them, Nott. How do you stand it? I can see it from here."

"Maybe you should have became a seer instead. You are excellent at pulling crap out of thin air. Is that a new wand trick you learned?"

"Yeah, well, we’re not exactly better. We may not have that exactly, but…well you’ve been to Knockturn Alley, I’m sure. You’re well aware of the types of places they have. Brothels. In some ways, that’s almost worse." He said. There was a very dark side to the wizarding world, one that all wizards and witches were privy to.

Theodore looked at Malfoy curiously for a second -- was he defending muggles or was it a simple slip? He lifted his shoulders in a small shrug, "I'm privy to more than I care to be." Theodore responded, his voice seeming to take on a darker connotations before lightening, "We might not be saints, but at least we aren't promoting it." For a moment Theodore wanted to continue, expanding on the fact that young girls didn't have to do it simply to pay their way to school -- as some muggle women apparently had to, the youngest Weasley didn't and Theodore wasn't sure many less fortunate families existed. But instead of expressing another point for why the muggle world was disturbing to him, he bit his tongue, deciding that the Weasley girl wasn't a necessary topic to bring up -- yet.

Astoria was still confused while staring at the older boy in awe. “Why not? I care about what people think about me and I don’t want anyone to think that I’m a mental case.”

Theodore wasn't surprised by her answer, "Of course you do. You are a Greengrass women after all." He murmured, his thoughts drifting to her older sister for a moment. "I don't think you are a mental case--happy?"

"I know that, Nott… But are you thinking that? I’m so confused!"

Theodore looked at her before shaking his head in slight disbelief. "Just don't worry about it."

"And the appeal of doing that in public…is what?" He asked, not quite understanding. "I’m not sure that’s something that anyone should offer for money, anyhow. It seems degrading."

"I agree with you, which is why I'm surprised they even exist." Theodore stated before rolling his eyes softly, "Muggles."

"Definitely not. I’m not crazy. Or maybe it was somebody else around us? I don’t know. I know that I’m not crazy, though."

"I never asked if you were crazy."

"Hmph, maybe I was hearing things. I do not need to get my hearing check, Nott, thank you very much."

"You hear things often, Greengrass?"