I try to get comfortable on the window sill. My feet are now resting in Theo's lap and he's resting his head on the cold stone wall behind him.

"Okay, so what are your ground rules?" He asks with a smirk.

"We can't tell anyone the truth," I say. "Not even our best friends."

"Agreed, if one person slips up or someone overhears something it could get back to my dad," Theo says.

I nod. "No seeing other people, I won't and you won't, for the same reasons," I add.

"Just because you're my fake girlfriend doesn't mean that I would cheat on you. I am a gentleman."

"Oh, I bet you are, Theo," I reply with a smile.

We both go quiet for a minute. Theo is thinking about something intently as takes a hit of his cigarette. He exhales the smoke, nodding.

"Okay, you'll have to come to my father's Christmas ball this year," Theo says.

"I always do, my whole family does."

"You'll have to come as my date, since you'll be my girlfriend and all," Theo adds. "My father will also probably want to have you over for dinner over the holidays."

I nod, "Okay, but then you have to come over for dinner too."

"Of course," Theo says. "I love any opportunity to see your mum-"

I smack him in the arm, and Theo laughs.

"You'll have to take me on dates, like to Hogsmeade," I say. "Even if it's just to the Three Broomsticks-"

"I know how dates work, Alex," Theo jokes, shaking his head. "I can take you out on proper dates so that we look like a proper couple in the eyes of everyone else."

We fall quiet again, and this time it's eerily quiet since it's almost curfew and the corridor is completely empty.

"And no sex," I say quietly, just barely breaking the silence.

"No sex," Theo affirms. "I wouldn't want to do anything to make you uncomfortable, Alex."

"I know, I trust you," I say.

Theo nods. "What about kissing? Not when it's just us-, I mean can I kiss you around other people?"

"Yes," I laugh. "Most couples do kiss, so we should too-, only around other people though."

"Yeah, of course."

"I'm okay with any sort of pda," I say. "Kissing, hugging, cuddling."

Theo smirks, "Yeah me too. Any more rules?"

I shake my head. "You?"

"Nope," He replies.

"You want to shake on it again, don't you?" I ask.

Theo grins, "It's only proper."

We shake hands again and fall into a conversation about what exactly we're going to tell our friends so that they believe us.

We stay in the corridor talking for a while, at least until Draco and Pansy return from their nightly patrol. They're talking in hushed voices, and Pansy seems to be laughing at something Draco said. Their conversation trails off when they see Theo and I.

"You two look cozy," Pansy says.

"Oh we are," Theo teases.

Draco rolls his eyes and points towards the entrance to the Slytherin common room. "It's past curfew," He states.

"Ooh, I'm scared," Theo jokes. "Are you, Alex?"

"Positively terrified. Head Boy caught us out past curfew, I hope he doesn't take away any house points," I play along.

Pansy laughs and Draco shakes his head and mutters something under his breath that sounds an awful lot like 'arseholes'. All four of us enter the common room, and I turn around to say goodnight to see that Draco and Pansy are busy "saying goodnight" to each other.

"Porca miseria," He mutters in Italian under his breath. "They're going to be a while."

"Probably," I say. "See you in the morning, Theo."

"See you tomorrow," Theo replies. He winks at me then starts up the stairs to the boys dormitory.

I take the other staircase up to my dorm, leaving Draco and Pansy snogging in the common room. I knock a few times on the door to make sure that everyone inside is decent.

I slowly open the door to find Daphne and Blaise laying in her bed, fully clothed, and in the middle of a conversation.

"Hey, Alex," Blaise says.

"Where were you? It's late," Daphne asks.

"I was with Theo. Draco and Pansy are snogging in the common room."

Blaise grimaces, "Gross."

"It was," I reply.

I get my pajamas from my trunk and go to the bathroom to change and get ready for bed. By the time I return, the lights have been turned out and the curtains around Daphne's bed have been closed. I get into bed and am just about to close the curtains when Pansy returns.

Even in the dark I can make out her messied hair and the fresh love bites on her neck.

"Might want to wear a turtleneck tomorrow," I murmur before closing the curtains and going to bed.

- - - - -

September 3rd, 1997

When Daphne, Pansy, and I get to breakfast, all three boys are already there. I sit beside Theo and smile.

"Morning," I say.

"Good morning," Theo replies, smiling back at me. He moves his book bag over and gestures for me to sit by him.

His hair is slightly messy, and he's wearing a white button-up and his Slytherin tie since the weather has been unseasonably nice recently. I sit a little bit closer to him than usual, so that our thighs are pressed together and our shoulders bump. I tune into Draco and Blaise's conversation while piling food onto my plate.

"I still don't get why they canceled quidditch this year," Blaise mumbles.

Draco frowns, "I think they're just trying to make everyone even more miserable."

"Would you even have enough players?" I ask.

"Slytherin would, none of the other teams would," Draco answers.

Theo shrugs, "They could always find new players. That's not a good enough reason to cancel quidditch for the year."

"They're just trying to make everyone even more miserable," Draco repeats.

The conversation dies out and everyone is too focused on eating breakfast to start up another conversation, that is until Daphne starts talking.

"Did you see McGonagall posted a list of the Hogsmeade dates this year?" Daphne asks. "We get them twice a month this year."

"Hmm, maybe they don't want us to be that miserable," Pansy says. She turns to Draco. "Are you going to take me on a proper date to Hogsmeade this year or are you going to ditch me like last year."

Draco sighs and rolls his eyes. "Pans, I was a bit preoccupied last year. We already talked about this."

"Merlin," Blaise mutters.

And just like that, Draco and Pansy start arguing yet again.

The rest of us attempt to ignore them, but it's kind of hard to ignore them once they start talking louder. People at the surrounding tables are starting to look over, but Draco and Pansy don't seem to notice.

"You never follow through on plans-"

"That was last year, get over it."

"Oh, get over yourself. You weren't the one who got stood up-"

Theo gets up from the table, which momentarily gets Draco and Pansy to shut the fuck up about whatever they were arguing about.

"I've got to grab something from the library before class," Theo says.

He turns his attention towards me and before I know it he's leaning over to kiss me. His hand rests below my jaw and he tilts my face up before pressing his lips against mine. After I get over the initial shock and remember that this is all a part of the act, I kiss him back, my hand resting on his side.

When we break apart, Theo's grinning, and I can feel everyone's eyes on me.

"I'll see you in class," Theo says before he's walking out of the Great Hall.

I turn back towards the table and take a sip of my tea.

Pansy is staring at me with her jaw dropped slightly, Draco just shrugs, and Daphne and Blaise exchange a look before Daphne turns to me.

"Alex, what the hell was that?" Daphne exclaims.