Dance With Me

Theodore smiled as he watched his love wander languidly through the halls, letting the fine, Indian silk tapestries trail beneath her fingers.

She was the epitome of elegance.

Her hair was long and black, curled tightly into perfect spirals that trailed down her back. Impish black eyes peered out of a fair face, surrounded by a fringe of black lashes. She smiled lazily, and he could not help the grin that grew on his.

"Pansy," he said softly, beckoning to her. She glided towards him, her thin arms reaching for him. Her paper-thin skin glowed as she embraced him, letting him swallow her in his embrace.

"Pansy," he murmured, letting his face burrow in her thick curls. Her hair reminded him of his mother's pillows, soft and velvety. "When our are guests coming to dinner? It seems like it's been ages."

"I'm not sure, love," she replied, a wicked smile forming on her face. "But I could think of a hundred things we could do until they come..."

He chuckled heartily, smoothing his own coarse hair back. She was insatiable, not that he minded very much. She giggled lightly and wrapped one arms around his shoulders.

"Dance with me?"

And they waltzed around the hallway, Pansy as light as air in his arms. Sometimes she seemed so frail, it was if she wasn't there at all, but she danced for him, closing her eyes and leading him through the steps so he would not falter.

He let his mind wander, going back to the day they had gotten together. He had refused the Dark Mark, and she had, for some reason, followed his treasonous footsteps, discarding the riches that would have piled at her feet for him. When he had asked why she had taken him, she merely shook her head and whispered "All girls love the bad boys," laughing as he had stared at her in bewilderment. It was strange, that his refusal to slay others in a stupid cause would brand him a 'bad boy', but it had given him a gift he had never known to exist, and he would betray the sun if it meant he could stay with her.

They began to dance into the dining room, which was as dim as the hall, as though the sun strained to come through the windowpanes. She laughed at him as he bumped the table, causing a delicate porcelain plate to fall to the ground. It bounced up once, still in one piece, and he stooped to pick it up, flipping it idly in his hands. Pansy came behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist. He turned to look into her deep green eyes.

Green?

Theodore shook his head. Pansy had blue eyes. Why had he thought them green? He shook his head; he must have been seeing things, or perhaps it was a trick of the dimming light.

"Theo," she said softly, and he turned to look to her. She smiled sadly.

"Theo, they've found us."

He frowned. "Who?"

She took a shaky breath. "My parents. And your father."

"Impossible."

She smiled again, even more softly and sadly, and shook her head. "Of course, dear, what was I thinking? Shall we dance?"

He took her thin hand, and they began to circle the room, waiting for their guests. The light grew dimmer, dimmer, as they waltzed.

"Theo? Theo, can you hear me?"

Theodore turned around, confused. Who was calling him?

"It's nothing, Theo," cooed Pansy. "Dance with me."

Blaise turned to Hermione and sighed. "He still can't hear me," he muttered, looking at the ground.

"We're still trying, Blaise," she said sadly, looking at Theodore as he moved around the room by himself, eyes shut, arms in the air as he danced elegantly. "But it's been five years. And he's still locked in that one day."

"Did they ever find out what happened?" asked Blaise, watching Theodore pick up a paper plate full of of his food, gently placing it on the table as though it was glass.

Hermione sighed, and put a hand on Blaise's arm. "Their parents found them," she explained. "They stormed in and tried to kill Theodore in retaliation for 'betraying' them. Pansy aimed her wand at her face, thinking they had killed Theodore after they knocked him out. She cast Avada Kedavra on herself, in their bed, so they couldn't take her as well. Theodore had thought everything that had happened was a bad dream when he woke up, and crawled into bed with her. They found him holding her body." Hermione winced as Theodore danced straight into a wall, laughing. "He hasn't opened his eyes since. It's like he hasn't really woken up from that day."

She frowned as Blaise sighed, defeated. "Let's go get some lunch," she suggested, smiling faintly. "My treat. The new tavern down the road has some excellent wine to go with their pasta."

"Let's," he echoed, shoulders stooped. He turned to Theodore, who was laughing richly at some silent joke. "See you later, Theo," he called faintly, before taking Hermione's arm and rushing out of the room.

"Ow," said Theodore as he ran into a wall. Pansy laughed at him, and he couldn't help but laugh back.

"See you later, Theo."

Theodore frowned. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" asked Pansy, fiddling with his robes. Theodore looked down at her, smiling fondly.

"Nothing, dear," he said, tangling his hands in her hair. "I thought I heard Blaise calling me." He laughed. "I must be going mad."