Alethea Beowulf is just starting to get used to the fact that she is the only Slytherin in her Gryffindor dominate family when it's revealed that she might have a stronger connection to the dark side of Slytherin than she previously thought. Not to...
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The rest of the break went on without a hitch. Alethea spent most of her time doing homework and training with her brothers.
By the time they returned to Hogwarts, she was just as tired as she had been after winter break. She barely even noticed the hostility that had been brewing in the school while she was gone — granted everyone was always hostile towards her house. The scuffles in the hallways were new. Simon even had to grudgingly step into one before another set of students ended up in the hospital wing.
The cause of the unrest was the upcoming Quidditch match between Gryffindor and Slytherin, the one which would decide who won the house cup. On a good day, Thea didn't care about who won the match. When people started to belittle her friends for simply being in Slytherin, she became completely intolerable of the event. It wasn't long until her brothers had to start reminding people that their sister and her friends were off limits. They didn't offer the same protection for Draco, however.
No one bothered to try to maintain order the night before the match. Inez's records were pulled out and several bottles of firewhiskey and mead had manifested in the upperclassmen's hands. Draco gave severe orders to his teammates to keep the drinking to a minimum although the captain, who should have given this order, ignored him completely.
"If we lose tomorrow because of that git..." Draco's voice fell into an inaudible grumble. He dropped into the seat beside Thea with his arms crossed as he glared at Flint.
"It's Flint, what can you expect," said Cordelia.
Draco didn't respond, heaving a heavy sigh instead.
Thea could feel tension radiating off of the boy from the moment she returned to school. He remained arrogant as ever outside the common room, but inside he was a ball of stress. She had the feeling she had missed something — most likely to do with Potter — but she didn't ask. If he wanted her to know, he would tell her.
Her impulse was to reach out and take his hand until her memory of what happened over Easter break came to mind. She suddenly thought twice about the matter. Maybe it was better to keep things a little less public.
Her thoughts hadn't been completely internal. Draco had noticed her begin to move closer to him. For a moment he felt at ease, the mere thought of Thea's comfort enough to calm him, but it didn't last long because the comfort never came. She pulled her hand back, not looking at him as she straightened.
She had been distant since she returned to school. She would still talk to him and acted normal for the most part, but she suddenly stopped being affectionate. He was used to her not saying how she felt, but at least he could tell what she was feeling by the way she leaned on him or rested her head on his shoulder. Now he had no clue what she was thinking. That on top of the upcoming match against Potter, who somehow got out of punishment even after Draco had reported seeing him in Hogsmeade, was driving Draco up the wall.
