𝐙𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐬

relucant hufflepuff, ardent chaser. “i am hungry and hollow and just want something to call my own.” // #𝙷𝙿𝚁𝙿 // canon @zachariasnsmith

[𝑻𝐇͟𝐄͟𝐎͟. @OFPUREEMERALDS]

⠀⠀( @worsthufflepuff )

[𝑻𝐇͟𝐄͟𝐎͟. @OFPUREEMERALDS]

⠀⠀( @worsthufflepuff )

[𝐙𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐬 @worsthufflepuff]

relative safety of the Hufflepuff common room.

Zacharias focused on taking notes, keeping silent, and ignoring Nott.

[𝐙𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐬 @worsthufflepuff]

Those words took Zacharias aback. He refrained from the urge to look at Nott, to try to gather some more information from the other’s expression, and instead his eyes remained firmly trained on his notes. As much as he 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙙 to know if Nott’s face would give away whether —

[𝑻𝐇͟𝐄͟𝐎͟. @OFPUREEMERALDS]

⠀⠀ { His brow rose with *𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦 when Zach held his stare, curious over what the male would decide to do, or 𝙣𝙤𝙩 do next. Theo honestly hoped that the Hufflepuff would call him out on his bulllshit. Could almost taste the words of annoyance on the other’s

—

[𝐙𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐬 @worsthufflepuff]

consequences to Zacharias’s tone towards the Slytherin. Whatever those might be, he intended to avoid them. He would try to unpack this conversation later, in private. For now it would do well to finish the assignment as quickly as they could, so he could retreat to the —

[𝑻𝐇͟𝐄͟𝐎͟. @OFPUREEMERALDS]

⠀⠀( @worsthufflepuff )

[𝐙𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐬 @worsthufflepuff]

turned back to his notes, hoping that would be the end of it.

[𝐙𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐬 @worsthufflepuff]

While embarrassment had brought a flush to his cheeks, Zacharias refused to look away from Nott. Perhaps he hadn’t managed to reign in his anger as well as he thought — 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘥 — he had. There was one advantage to his stubbornness, though: he managed to catch the slight —

[𝑻𝐇͟𝐄͟𝐎͟. @OFPUREEMERALDS]

⠀⠀ { The sudden sharpness in Zach’s tone had Theo looking up. He suspected that the Hufflepuff had a bit of a “bite” to him, but the male hadn’t been as bold to try it with 𝙝𝙞𝙢 before. ——— Theo didn’t take being 𝘴𝘯𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 well. He had enough of that with

—

[𝐙𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐬 @worsthufflepuff]

threat, he swallowed thickly. He didn’t doubt that Nott would follow through on that. Still, he couldn’t force an apology out. He hadn’t really done anything. He turned his head to look Nott in the eyes. His eyelashes were distractingly long. “Understood,” Zacharias said, then —

[𝐙𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐬 @worsthufflepuff]

“I’m perfectly capable of doing my own work,” he snapped. He managed to reign his anger in almost immediately — he’d gotten a lot of experience with that these last few weeks. He felt blood rushing into his cheeks. 𝙁𝙪𝙘𝙠. There was no predicting how Nott would react to that…

[𝐙𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐬 @worsthufflepuff]

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 was something they both agreed on. Zacharias was certainly planning on finishing the assignment as quickly as possible and then getting the hell out of the library. He wanted nothing more than to retreat to the relative safety of the Hufflepuff common room.

He merely —

[𝑻𝐇͟𝐄͟𝐎͟. @OFPUREEMERALDS]

⠀⠀ { As many questions as Zach might have, Theo was glad he didn’t ask them. He wouldn’t necessarily be rude, but he would be blunt in his answers. And how whatever happened to him, truly wasn’t the Hufflepuff’s concern. Theo didn’t 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 it to be. Zach was better off

—

[𝐙𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐬 @worsthufflepuff]

nodded at the compliment, barely registering it. If he’d taken a moment to think about it, he might’ve wondered if Nott was the type to compliment others’ work — but he didn’t. Zacharias barely looked at his partner. Right up until he suggested that Zacharias could’ve cheated.

—

[𝑻𝐇͟𝐄͟𝐎͟. @OFPUREEMERALDS]

⠀⠀( @worsthufflepuff )

[𝐋𝐔𝐂𝐈𝐄𝐍 @Depravityisms]

⠀⠀ ⠀⠀ 𝐋𝐔𝐂𝐈𝐄𝐍 𝐁𝐎𝐋𝐄

⠀⠀ ⠀⠀ 𝘚𝘭𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯 𝘘𝘶𝘪𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘉𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳

⠀⠀ ⠀⠀ ᴡʀɪᴛᴛᴇɴ ʙʏ: https://t.co/iis1Avdl5u

[𝐙𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐬 @worsthufflepuff]

might need as references,” he replied, nodding towards the pile he’d collected. “We should be able to get started now.” With some luck, they’d knock the assignment out in an hour and Zacharias might be back in the common room before dinner.

[𝐙𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐬 @worsthufflepuff]

There was still too much tension for Zacharias’s liking. Last year, he might have asked Nott what happened to his face. Now, though, he knew better. He’d annoyed people with his relentless questions before and he wasn’t stupid enough to provoke a Slytherin. Not anymore, not —

[𝑻𝐇͟𝐄͟𝐎͟. @OFPUREEMERALDS]

⠀⠀ { His nose wasn’t broken 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 time, and Theo assumed it would have stopped bleeding by the time he reached Zach, sighing once the other noticed he then shook his head. }

I’m good. Thanks.

{ Theo then reached for his wand, and cleared his face along

—

[𝐙𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐬 @worsthufflepuff]

now that actually they held all the power in the school. What a frightening thought that was.

“All right.” Zacharias looked away before Nott fixed his face. At the other’s question, his gaze fell back on Nott. He’d cleaned himself up, thankfully. “I got some books I thought we —