When Aven Selwyn is tasked to work with Draco Malfoy in repairing the vanishing cabinet by the hand of Lord Voldemort, the last thing she expected was for Draco's best friend to become involved. Caring for someone isn't something on Aven's agenda, b...
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(ᴄʜᴀᴘᴇʀ ᴛᴡᴇɴᴛʏ-ᴛʜʀᴇᴇ: ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴅᴀʀᴋ)
Powered by hormones and recklessly running through the castle, Aven and Theo hadn't even made it near the dungeons before Filch had stopped them. They'd been handed detention for a week before escorted back to their dorms, where'd they'd parted ways and stomped back to bed.
Four hours passed, and after two hours of sleep and another two of staring at the canopy above her bed, Aven had come to a conclusion:
She'd fucked up.
She'd led him on. Obviously there was an attraction there; there was no point in denying it. Aven had experienced attraction to people before, but never had she'd been in her current circumstance, one preventing her from acting upon that attraction.
But she'd fucked up, and she'd gone and kissed Theo, confirming his suspicions, and now she'd have to hurt him. She didn't want to, but she saw no other way around this. Other than having to tell him what had happened tonight would never happen again, she only worried about one other thing.
His kiss. If he kissed her again, or even gave her that thorough, longing look, it would make things far more difficult. As if their previous kiss wasn't enchanting enough (she could still taste the warmth and sweet flavored smoke of his lips on hers), if it happened for a second time, she wasn't sure she could legitimately go through with ending it.
But she wasn't doing this for her, she was doing it for him. No matter how much he may like her, his death wouldn't be worth it. And he'd probably hate her after today, but she could suffer through the hate more so than his death. At least then he'd still be breathing, hating her in life rather than death.
"Aven, it's getting late. If you don't get up, you'll miss breakfast."
Pany's reminder stirred Aven, and she turned on her side, angling herself towards Pansy, even though the curtain acted as a barrier between them.
She didn't answer, waiting to hear Pansy's huff of annoyance and steps of retreat before she stood, wiping her eyes. She pushed the curtain to the side, stretching, as she approached the bathroom. She didn't bother checking her appearance, heading straight for the shower. She scrubbed her scalp raw as the scalding water rained down on her, beads traveling down her skin like slow tears. She dreaded the day already; she'd have to spend a majority of her day in the room of requirement, both to research as well to avoid Theo.
Her mind in-distinctively traveled to him, the look on his face before he'd kiss her. The hope etched into his skin, the pull at the corner of his mouth and the determined spark in his eyes. Her finger skimmed her bottom lip, swearing she could still feel the swollen effect Theo had left on her mouth. A heat stirred in her stomach, and she pushed it back, forcing her head elsewhere.
She wearily dressed and dried her hair, taking steadying breaths before she left her room. It was ridiculous, really, how she paused at the bottom of the stairs to peer around the corner, scared of confrontation. Confirming the room was clear, she breathed a sigh of relief, quietly slipping from the common room and into the dank halls of the dungeons.
