Smoke and Stars - A Theo Nott Story

Puttin On The Ritz

"I'm just going to say it... I told you so. I said that you and Theo were soulmates and that you two were in love," Astoria said as she curled her eyelashes. She pumped the tool a few times before pulling away with the longest eyelashes Aria had ever seen. "I just knew it. I told Theo that you two were going to make each other happy."

Aria—who was in the midst of curling her hair—pulled back with a little bit of surprise. "Azzy, you talked to Theo?"

Astoria nodded and grinned. "Yup. I told him to get his head out of his butt and back with you. And look what happened! So, I guess what I'm trying to say, is I might be god. Or, at least god if she had matchmaking powers."

Aria was glad she wasn't holding the curling iron at that moment because she would have dropped it from pure shock. "You're ridiculous!" she said with a laugh. "How can you reasonably get from being a good matchmaker to being a god?"

Astoria just smirked and shrugged her shoulders. "By being me. Duh."

The two of them burst into laughter that could hardly be contained. Getting ready for the Hogmanay Ball with her best friend was the most fun Aria had had in a while. Well, the most fun that didn't involve being in bed with Theo. Now, the time for the ball was almost here. The girls just needed to put on the finishing touches on their hair and makeup and get dressed into their dresses.

"Remind me why you're going with Draco again?" Aria asked, trying to hide as much of her smirk from her voice as she could. She knew exactly why Astoria was going with Draco but she wasn't sure how Astoria would try and justify it.

Astoria swiped on a deep red lipstick. With her dark hair and pale skin, she looked straight out of a fairytale. "Daph said she didn't want to go but our parents thought it would be disrespectful for Draco not to go with his future wife so everyone agreed that I would go with him instead." Aria looked over at her friend and noticed how much the girl was trying to hide her excitement. This is a bad idea, Aria thought with a pang of sadness. He's engaged to her sister. But when she saw the brightness in her friend's eyes, she resolved not to say anything. Astoria is a grown witch. She'll do what's best for her. "He's meeting me in the Common Room in about ten minutes," she said with a soft smile.

"Well, I'm glad." And despite her reservations, Aria meant it.

"What about Theo? What's your plan with him?"

Aria smiled as she thought about her night with him. "I thought it would be best if we showed up after things died down there a little so he's picking me up from here in about 45 minutes."

"I'm surprised he's not here now to get some extra time in with you."

Aria laughed. "Well, I actually want my hair and makeup to look presentable and I have a feeling that if Theo were here, he would try to mess it up. And I don't think I want to tell my brother about my boyfriend while reeking of sex."

"Ew," Astoria said, making a face of disgust. "Plus, I'm here so I'm actually begging you not to do that ever in front of me ever." Aria's face turned bright red thinking about the way Theo slowly made love to her in front of Mattheo. He had no qualms about taking her whenever and wherever he wanted and she was beginning to really like that.

"Oh gross," Astoria yelled. "I can just tell by your face that you're being naughty in front of me! My innocence is very much intact and I'd like to keep it like that."

Aria giggle. "Sorry, Azzy. I'll keep my thoughts strictly PG-13."

"PG," Astoria grumbled with a slight scowl. Well, as much as Astoria could scowl, which wasn't very much. It mostly consisted of a small pout that made a line in the middle of her forehead. "Now that you're not defiling your boyfriend mentally, we can get dressed."