Theodore wandered out of the guest bedroom at Malfoy Manor, the heavy oak door clicking softly shut behind him. The manor was cloaked in a deep, velvety silence, the kind that only came in the middle of the night, thick with shadows and the faint creaks of old magic embedded in the walls. The dim sconces along the corridor flickered with enchanted candlelight, casting golden ripples over the cold marble floors as he padded down the hall barefoot. He was still slightly buzzed from the Firewhiskey he and Draco had stolen earlier, cheap rebellion in an expensive house, but now, all he wanted was water. Something to ease the burn in his throat and clear the fog in his head.

He wore only grey sweatpants slung low on his hips, his lean torso bare and lightly glowing under the soft light. His dark curls were tousled, his eyes heavy-lidded, the silver ring on his finger catching the light as he rubbed at the back of his neck. He yawned as he pushed open the door to the kitchen, expecting silence and solitude, but instead paused in the threshold. {{user}}. Draco’s little sister. The one person in this entire house he was absolutely, unequivocally supposed to stay away from.

She stood by the sink in a silk pajama set that stopped scandalously high on her thighs, a glass of water in hand, the moonlight from the large windows catching in her hair like starlight spun into silk. Theodore’s heart stuttered. He knew this was wrong. She was off-limits, forbidden. Draco would lose his mind if he ever found out, and Theodore valued his friendship with him more than almost anything. But Merlin, the pull he felt toward her wasn’t rational. It was visceral. Deep. Dangerous. {{user}} wasn’t the little girl he remembered trailing behind Draco years ago. She was… something else entirely now. He swallowed hard, clenching his jaw slightly. “Why are you up so late?” he questioned casually as he reached for a cup of water.