Theodore Alastor Nott (ex_notty38) wrote in tempus_fugit, @ 2008-07-30 14:27:00 |
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Normally Theodore didn't like to make promises concerning where he would be during certain times of the day because it was never written in stone whether he would be available at that time. However, he could make exceptions once in awhile. It wasn't as if every day in the Ministry of Magic was full of excitement and trouble. Perhaps if he were a bit of a higher ranking Hit-Wizard it would be difficult to sneak away, but Theodore laid low most of the morning and by the time the clock was pointed at a quarter of noon, he was out the door and walking toward the Leaky Cauldron to meet Astoria Greengrass.
The distance from the Ministry of Magic to the Leaky wasn't too large and he quite liked to walk and take the time to observe the sights and sounds of the city that he would soon be calling his home, since the Langdale Manor was now up for sale. Of course he looked a bit odd walking along in his Ministry of Magic issued robes, or so he thought. He nearly had to remind himself that the secret of their world was practically out for everyone else to know. As he walked along, he started to think about the last time he saw Astoria Greengrass and was disappointed in himself when he couldn't place a recent encounter in his mind. Theodore didn't know her very well, but had liked her enough to consider meeting up for a bit of a chat. No harm could come of that.
The fifteen minutes passed quickly and soon Theodore found himself in front of the familiar pub. The door pulled open with a low groan and he hurried inside. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the darkness of the room, but once he was able to make out shapes and faces he began his search for Astoria. He was surprised to find that there weren't many people in the pub yet and thought that the lunch rush would probably happen within half an hour. That was fine by him. After taking a quick lap around the establishment he found that he was the first to arrive and settled down in the most comfortable chair in the place and waited patiently for his lunch date to show up.
Astoria wasn't quite sure why she was meeting up with Theodore Nott. They had barely conversed in school, let alone outside of it. However, writing to him in the journals had been fun. He was easy to flirt with and Astoria wanted to spend some time with a member of the opposite sex who wasn't Blaise. It was stressful to be with him, the opposite of what a significant other should be. Not that Blaise was her significant other, but rather a significant piece of her subtle yet effective plan.
The Leaky Cauldron was empty save for a few stragglers. Assuming that the only twenty-something in the place was Theodore, Astoria approached him. "Theodore?" she asked, trying to gain his attention. The wizard was handsome. His face was chiseled but his eyes appeared soft. Astoria could feel herself melting a little in his presence. Hopefully he would be a bore or Astoria feared that she might melt completely.
As soon as Theodore heard his name, he stood up from his seat. The girl he remembered Astoria as certainly had grown into a spectacular woman and he paused a beat before responding to her, "Yes, Astoria, it's nice to see you. You look very well." There was roughly seven inches difference between their heights, but Theodore felt as if he was in the presence of someone much larger due to the amount of beauty that was radiating from the younger woman. Astoria was certainly Daphne's sister, but she looked so different from her. By the time Theodore realized that he was probably gawking at her, it was far too late. Surely Astoria had noticed.
Smooth, he thought to himself.
He moved around the table and pulled the other seat out from under it, "Thank you for meeting with me. I have been looking forward to catching up with those who I haven't seen in many months." He smiled, "Or in some cases, years."
Astoria stood awkwardly while Theodore stared at her. Was her outfit too tight? Did he think she looked strange? She hardly ever felt self-conscious but for some reason his stare was turning her into a bunch of goo. "You do too," Astoria replied, trying not to sound as if she was suffering from a temporary lack of self-esteem. Why did she want to impress him so much?
Theodore pulled out a chair for her and she quickly sat down in it, glad to have the table in between them. At least then, if he did dislike what she was wearing, he wouldn't have to look at most of it. What was wrong with her? This wasn't her usual self at all. Normally she would already be flirting with him, trying to flash him some leg while she was at it. Or in this situation, 'accidentally' rub her leg against his. Now, however, it felt wrong.
"Yes, I'm curious. What have you been up to since you left school?" There. If the conversation got going, then Astoria would feel a little more confident.
Theodore couldn't help but notice how quickly Astoria sat down. If that wasn't a red flag that he had made her uncomfortable, he didn't know what was. His dark brows came together at once in a crease as he went back to his own seat. By the time he was facing her, his brows were righted again and reflected a very calm appearance. Theodore cleared his throat as she asked her question and couldn't help but sigh a bit on the inside. It wasn't as if he hated talking about his job, it was just that once in awhile he wished there was something else to discuss. Wasn't that why he was meeting different people this week?
"Good to know that I've at least piqued your curiosity," he commented briefly, his eyes flicking from her face down to the table before returning to her eyes, "I'm currently a Hit-Wizard for the Ministry of Magic. It has practically taken up every moment of my waking hours since leaving Hogwarts and I see no end to it anytime soon." His lips formed into a pleasant smile as he finished saying this to let her know that he was obviously joking. "But that's incredibly dull to talk about, I want to hear about you. I can't get over how...," he paused, his eyes sweeping from left to right without his head moving which indicated that he was trying to think of a way to end that comment, "...grown-up you look." Of all the things he could land on, that one seemed the least offensive at the moment. As Theodore was quite sure that saying something along the lines of I can't get over how fit you look would probably be incredibly rude and have his mother rolling over in her grave.
Eyebrows raised in surprise that a member of the male sex didn't want to talk about himself, Astoria tried to think of something to say. Theodore's eyes were very nice to look at and she was getting distracted. "After I passed the N.E.W.T.s, I moved out of my parents house and am living in my own flat now. Other than that, I've mostly been up to no good." As Astoria continued to talk, she felt herself loosening up a bit, finding herself underneath the initial shock of Theodore's good looks.
"To be quite honest, I should have a job myself, but I can't think of anything that would interest me," Astoria went on. Not that she had been trying that hard to find an interesting career. "My parents would rather I married a rich pureblood and be done with it. I'd prefer opting out of both, if I could." Feeling as if she was babbling, Astoria tried to turn the conversation back to him.
"So, besides work, what do you do?"
Theodore paid close attention to Astoria as she spoke and found his eyes moving from her lips to her eyes frequently. She was charming in a subtle sort of way that made him grin just a bit more than usual. Not that he minded grinning, he usually didn't have many reasons to do so. He was a bit surprised to hear that she was living on her own. It seemed to him that most pureblood children would rather stay home than get out. If his mother was still alive, he certainly would have wanted to stay a bit longer (as long as it was his father who wasn't alive, but even then he would still live there to protect his mother). Theodore made a mental note to mention that he was looking for a flat somewhere in the city and see if Astoria had any advice.
"You should do what you want to do," Theodore told her, smirking with his mouth and eyes. "And I think that most families wish their daughters to marry someone rich and established. If they want the best for them, they do." That was his two knuts, anyways.
What do I do? That was going to be a difficult question to answer. He was a tad embarrassed that, besides work, he didn't do much of anything. There were not enough hours in the day. Shifting in his seat as he thought about how to answer, Theodore noticed a waiter come up. The waiter didn't announce his presence or ask what they wanted, so Theodore paid him no attention. "Let's see," he started slowly, looking now at the table between them for inspiration, "I read sometimes." There, that was something. He read. Not very often, but most nights he had to do get himself to wind down and sleep. Certainly it wasn't very impressive to Astoria, but it was something.
This was the moment the waiter decided to intervene by asking what they would like to drink. Theodore nodded to Astoria to indicate that she could go first. He only wanted water.
"Sure, money is wonderful and all, but there should be more to marriage than that." Astoria sighed. "Like attraction, for one." She glanced at Theodore to see his reaction.
Astoria had always known that she wouldn't marry for convenience. If she had her way, which she planned on, she would be marrying because she chose to. Love wasn't something that Astoria felt was for her, but lust or even somebody that she could tolerate would do. Just as long as marriage wasn't forced on her.
Theodore mentioned reading as a hobby, causing Astoria to blink a few times. "That's it? You don't go out to pubs or hang out with your mates? You don't even play a sport?" She was taken aback. Reading? How boring. "Tell me when you're free next and I will show you a fun time." Astoria hoped that didn't sound promiscuous, because she hadn't meant it to be, for once.
"I'll have a butterbeer," Astoria told the waiter, turning to Theodore to see what he ordered.
"Water," Theodore said without even looking at the waiter. It wasn't that he was rude, but he just didn't see why so much attention needed to be paid to the staff until they were going to do something useful like get him food. Surely it would take him several minutes to get just water anyways. Plus, he would much rather have his attention on his lovely lunch date.
"I agree," he said as a reaction to Astoria's thoughts on marriage. After seeing the way his mother and father acted from being arranged for marriage he really couldn't help but think anything different. Money was all well and good, but simple things counted as well. If you could get on with someone without there being constant arguing and certainly no physical violence. Theodore wasn't so sure about love, but he imagined that he could grow to love someone after being able to like them for their personality. Attraction was not something that he always looked for (not that he was really looking). "So you don't think that you could learn to be attracted to someone?" He asked simply out of conversation.
Astoria's suggestion to show him a fun time didn't make him think she was promiscuous at all, but he did find her a bit amusing. This was probably a woman who had never really had to work for much in her life and he was thinking how he could be like her if he wanted to be. He could not hold a job and spend all his time going to pubs and hanging out with his mates and playing sports, but he got a lot of satisfaction from doing some good in the world. Probably a bit judgmental of him, but there were many things that Theodore thought that were judgmental that he never spoke out loud. "I suppose I will have to take you up on that sometime when I am free." He paused a beat after immediately wondering if she thought he didn't have much of a social life by choice, "You understand that I could do those things if I decided I wanted to, but my job requires a lot of time spent at the office right now. I imagine it will get better in the coming months. It's difficult being new."
Noting that Theodore only ordered water, Astoria wondered what that said about him. Most of the men she had gone out with would drink heavily or at least have a glass of wine to match her own drinking habits. Perhaps he was very secure with himself and didn't need to drink to feel impressive. Astoria wished she could do that. Alcohol was something she liked to enjoy, though, any time of day. Then she remembered that he had to go back to work. Never having to think about things like that herself, Astoria felt a little ignorant.
A pureblood agreeing with her views on marriage surprised her. Sure, everyone wanted to marry someone they liked, but purebloods seemed to be less likely to admit it. Apparently not Theodore. "It depends on the person," she answered. "If I were forced to marry, say... Draco Malfoy, I doubt I would ever learn to like him let alone tolerate him. There are other wizards, however, that I could easily become attracted to." Astoria looked pointedly at him, not feeling shy anymore. "What about you? Could you become attracted to someone, given enough time?"
"I understand," she said in response to his having to work often. If only she did understand. Maybe she would go job hunting, Theodore was inspiring her to grow up and be responsible. It would be nice to make her own money and earn it for once, depending on the job, of course. "Just let me know when you have a free night and we'll visit some of my favorite places.
Theodore hardly thought about if what he was going to have to drink reflected on whether or not he was a secure person. He could hold his alcohol well enough and was sure that most people within the Ministry drank throughout the day. It was simply that he wanted water and asked for what he wanted. He wasn't about putting on airs during every moment of his life. Pureblood or not. Then again, it was fairly easy to feel that way when he didn't have many people around him who were brave enough to suggest he should act a certain way based on his blood status and financial situation.
It amused Theodore that Astoria decided to pick Draco Malfoy as the theoretical person she could be forced to marry, "You never saw his appeal?" he asked and ignored her other question for the moment. However, he did notice her pointed look and grinned only slightly. Theodore was used to women hitting on him based only on his outward appearance, but he normally didn't care very much. Astoria Greengrass was a bit of a different case, though. She seemed very sure of herself and didn't make a fool of herself to let him know that she found him attractive. That alone was enough to make him grin. Finally, he decided to respond, "I think that love at first sight saves a lot of time, but growing attracted to someone based on their other qualities over only physical traits is possible for me."
If he knew that he was inspiring Astoria in any way, Theodore may have felt inwardly bashful. "I will definitely do that," he said, just as the waiter was bringing their drinks.
After placing their drinks on the table, the waiter asked what they would like to eat. Astoria opted for a salad, not wanting to eat too much of the Leaky's food. The Leaky Cauldron was all right as a bar, but Astoria had always felt that their serving food was sketchy.
"Draco? Hardly. I don't know how close you are to him, so I won't go into details, but let's just say he's not my favorite person." Astoria crossed her arms at the mere thought of the annoying git. "I agree with you, though. There's more to somebody than just their looks." This made her think of Blaise, who was handsome but his personality irked her sometimes. She was beginning to realize more and more that he wasn't a right fit for her. If it had been based just on looks, then yes, but there was more to their relationship than that. Actually, they didn't have much of a relationship now that she thought of it.
After Astoria ordered, Theodore asked for a simple chicken salad sandwich with crisps. He wasn't overly hungry and it seemed that Astoria wasn't either. It always seemed like girls were ordering salads and for a moment he thought about asking why that was the case, but decided against it at the last moment, just as his mouth moved to do so. He was far too inquisitive sometimes and he forgot that women didn't take kindly to men asking them why they ate so little, or why the wore make-up and many other girly type things that Theodore just couldn't quite understand.
Theodore's eyebrows arched upward upon discovering Astoria's very obvious dislike of Draco Malfoy. Here he thought that all girls were easily wooed by Draco and it turned out that wasn't entirely true anymore. A small sort of celebration went on in Theodore's head right at that moment and he tried very hard to keep it hidden from his lunch date by bending his head to closely examine the intricacies of the wooden table in front of him. After a brief pause, Theodore clarified his relationship with Draco, "Draco and I aren't the best of mates. We have a mutual respect for one another, I think, but I don't think he ever got over the fact that I didn't want to follow him around like his personal lap dog during Hogwarts."
Normally he wouldn't say such things out loud, but Astoria had made it quite clear that she wasn't going to run off and tell Mr. Malfoy that Theodore wasn't a fan.
Astoria smirked at Theodore's comment about Draco. "He did seem to have his share of lap dogs," she replied. Finally, somebody who shared her view of him. Well, Astoria would never admit that she respected Draco Malfoy, but at least Theodore didn't worship him like some had in the past. "Why didn't you? Follow him around, I mean."
She was suddenly very curious about Theodore during his Hogwarts days. She had never really taken the time to notice him, which was strange considering they had been in the same house. Sure they had been two years apart, but Astoria figured she would have socialized with him more than she remembered. If he hadn't been running around with Draco's crew, though, then Astoria could see why she wouldn't have noticed him. Draco had always had a firm presence in Slytherin house and most others seemed to fade into the background.
Plus, there was the fact that Astoria had always been more occupied with having fun, sneaking around the school, and not doing homework. If Theodore had been as serious about his school work as he currently appeared to be toward his job, then Astoria would have avoided him like the plague. She was beginning to regret that now.
Now there was a question that most people didn't dare ask Theodore and now he was wondering why they didn't. Perhaps he was a bit more intimidating than he realized. It was a very tricky answer to give and Theodore wasn't quite sure he wanted to be completely candid with Astoria yet. After all, it was only their first meeting after a very long period of time not talking to each other. "My mother raised me to be a free-thinker and not to rely on other people to the extent where they overshadow me." Theodore took a moment to readjust himself in his seat and clasp his hands together on the table before continuing, "There was a time when I thought it would be a good idea to follow Draco Malfoy around, but I soon came to my senses."
Mostly because my mother practically begged me not to follow in my father's footsteps and I knew that spending a lot of time with boys who wanted to become Death Eaters would not help me to steer clear of that path, he thought to himself.
"I'm glad you did, because otherwise this conversation would have become a bit awkward," Astoria joked. She smiled at him and leaned closer. Astoria let her hair fall over her shoulder, her flirting instincts taking over. At the same moment, however, the food arrived and she was forced to lean back so the waiter could place the food down.
The salad looked tolerable so Astoria took a bite. Not bad. She motioned toward Theodore's food. "Do you like it?" All Astoria cared about though, was how quickly she could make Theodore fall in love with her. Or just become highly attracted to her. Should she go for the usual innuendos and physical contact? Or was he more attracted to the intellectual sort? Because if so, she was screwed. Astoria was smart in some respects, but certainly not book smart like he seemed to be.
"Yes," Theodore agreed with a casual laugh and thanked Merlin that he didn't like Draco any more than what he did at the present time. He had a feeling that may change in the future due to the fact that he already had a meeting set up with Draco for the following day, but it was hard to tell. Theodore was perfectly content with remaining an acquaintance.
Always the gentleman, Theodore waited for Astoria to start eating before he did so. Even when she did, he remained still for a moment watching her. He had wondered if The Leaky Cauldron was the type of establishment that Astoria would mind having lunch in, but by the looks of it she didn't seem too bothered. To him, that said a lot about her character and almost immediately decided that he wouldn't mind seeing Astoria again at some point. Although she was very obviously flirting with him at every chance she got, it didn't lessen his opinion of her. Some girls were good at certain things and apparently Astoria thought she was good at being attractive. Theodore had to agree with her, at least.
Finally he took a bite of his chicken salad sandwich. It wasn't too dry and that had been his fear when he considered ordering it. "It's acceptable," Theodore said after he had swallowed and wiped his mouth. "How is your salad? Green enough for you?" he teased, obviously playing off of her name.
"Ha ha," Astoria said in response to Theodore's obvious teasing. "Yes, it is quite good, thank you." She didn't want to insult the food while she was in the establishment that had created it, nor in front of her lunch date. It was actually okay, so there really wasn't a need to state any other opinion than the one she had given.
Putting down her fork after having taken a few bites, Astoria turned her attention back to Theodore. "So if you didn't hang out with Draco, then who did you hang out with? I'm not that familiar with the students in your year, besides Draco and his gang of course." And my sister, she mentally added. "I'm just curious is all."
Theodore popped a crisp in his mouth and chewed thoughtfully, gazing at Astoria as he did so. Now he was thinking about Daphne and how the two sisters didn't look all that much alike. It had been quite awhile since he had seen Daphne, of course, but he remembered her as being quite plain. That wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but beside Astoria many pretty women could look ordinary.
When Astoria asked her next question, Theodore snapped back to attention and sighed, "Whomever I wanted to, I suppose. I didn't have a best mate that I talked with all the time. I did my best to get to know everyone." That seemed a pathetic answer, but it was the truth. He had spent time with most of his housemates, at least the ones who were in his same year, at one time or another. "Your sister and I got along well," he nodded, "How is she nowadays?"
"Daphne? She's doing well. I actually haven't seen her in a while," Astoria answered, then took another bite of her salad. She paused. Theodore and Daphne had gotten along well at school? Had they been friends? Or more? Suddenly, Astoria felt a little jealous even though she knew it was irrational. "How well did you two know each other? Were you close?"
Why was she reacting this way? Back in school, she never cared what boys thought of other girls. She would snog them casually and that was it. No emotional attachments and therefore no messy breakups or broken hearts. Astoria needed to keep in mind that if she let herself care, she would be the one with the broken heart. Theodore was just a fellow Slytherin that she was meeting up with for fun. Nothing more, nothing less and she certainly wouldn't let herself be anything more than simply attracted to him.
"Oh, I wouldn't say we were close," Theodore said, using his hands to help communicate his meaning (which he tended to do quite often), "We were friendly and on good terms." He realized that he wasn't being very candid at all and that was probably a turn-off to Astoria, but again, he didn't know her that well. "The two of you are close, aren't you?" He often liked flipping the person's question around on them. In this case, he would be very surprised if Astoria said they weren't, even though she had indicated that she hadn't seen her older sister in a while."
Theodore wasn't oblivious of his physical appeal to women or how some of them flirted with him constantly. It was just something that a person got used to, but for him it didn't phase him much. Perhaps it added to his ego a touch, but unlike some men, Theodore didn't consider him the gift to all women. He wasn't perfect, though, and more than once he had used his attractiveness to his advantage.